Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke "dug in" through tears to
"celebrate the spirit of his fallen teammate Phillip Hughes in a tribute
lauded for its courage," according to Rose Powell of THE AGE. Speaking to mourners at Hughes' funeral
in his home town of Macksville, Clarke was "overcome with grief only once
as he delivered a tribute to the batsman he referred to as his little
brother." Clarke: "He left a mark on our game that needs no embellishment. I don't know about you but I keep looking for him. I know it's crazy, but I expect any moment to take a call for him or see his face pop around the corner. Is this what we call the spirit? If it is, it's with me and I hope it never leaves." Clarke said the "global tributes for Hughes, from Karachi to Lords in
England, had 'sustained and overwhelmed' him in equal measure." He
also praised the team and cricketing community, the "baggy green
brothers and sisters" who had "lifted him up when he felt he could not
keep going and said the spirit of cricket would hold them all together" (THE AGE, 12/3). A link to Clarke's tribute is available here. In London, Richard Hobson wrote if Hughes death was "Australia's Princess Diana moment," as Gregg Chappel said, then Clarke "has emerged as its Tony Blair." Clark "articulated the grief of a nation through his personal sorrow at the loss of a mate, and has grown from being a captain to a leader along the way" (LONDON TIMES, 12/4).
THOUSANDS TURN OUT: In N.Y., Alan Cowell reported "thousands of Australians, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott," turned
out on Wednesday in a "remarkable display of national grief." Such was the player's "global status" that Indian PM Narendra Modi posted a message on Twitter referring to the "Heart-rending funeral in Australia." The funeral was held in Hughes' hometown, Macksville, but fans "gathered in the thousands across the
nation to follow the proceedings on large screens at some of the
country's best-known cricket grounds." Schools and businesses "shut early" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/3). In Sydney, Andrew Wu reported Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, former cricketers Shane Warne and Brian
Lara and the "current Australian team were among thousands who poured
into Macksville High School." As a cricketer, Hughes "became a prodigy not long after being
introduced to the game," with "great persuasion," by his older brother
Jason. Told he would be a "wuss" if he did not play, Hughes donned the whites, "albeit begrudgingly," his cousin Nino Ramunno said. Batting as a tailender, Hughes made 25 and Ramunno said that "from that moment he fell in love with the game." Hughes' younger sister Megan, who as a child "used to fetch balls for
him as he hit with their father Greg, described him as her hero and best
friend." Megan Hughes said, "I will always remember and admire that you never changed
or became somebody different while your life and career was progressing
before your eyes" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/3).
UNPRECEDENTED OUTPOURING: In Sydney, Rosie Lewis reported Australian politician John Faulkner, the "father of the Senate," said that the "outpouring of grief over Phillip Hughes's death is something he has not
witnessed 'for any other sportsman.'" Faulkner said Hughes was a cricketer of "immense talent" but, perhaps of greater importance, "a fine young man." Faulkner: "The
outpouring of grief of his passing is a matter I have not previously
witnessed for any other sportsman. It will be apparent to all
in this chamber that the death of this young man has reached beyond
that moment at the Sydney Cricket Ground and has reached well beyond
cricket" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/3). THE AGE reported Western Australia cricket fans "gathered at the WACA ground" to say goodbye to Hughes. After earlier observing a minute's silence, the crowd "continued to swell as fans and players sat silently for the funeral ceremony." When Clarke "broke down as he spoke about his 'little brother,' it was too much for some who openly cried" (THE AGE, 12/3). In Melbourne, Lisa Visentin wrote a "veil of melancholy descended on the Sydney Cricket Ground" as about 2,000 people gathered to farewell Hughes, "felled at the famous wicket eight days earlier." They sat
"among the blades of grass where Hughes had taken to the field for the
final time, watching a live projection of the 25-year-old's funeral from
his home town of Macksville." Behind them, a row of cricket bats "stretched the width of the SCG,
each one inscribed with a milestone from Hughes' brilliant career, now
forever immortalised with his final score: 63 not out" (THE AGE, 12/3). In London, Bernard Lagan wrote "the gymnasium of Macksvill high school becamse the epicentre of grief for both a country and worldwide cricketing family." The town had pulled down its Christmas bunting and in its place "cricket bats lined the main street as its most famous son returned home for the last time" (LONDON TIMES, 12/4).
