Former cricketer Phillip Hughes’s grieving family believes its son "was targeted by short-pitched bowling and that one of his former teammates said he wanted to kill the South Australia batsman" the day he was struck a fatal blow at the Sydney Cricket Ground, according to Peter Lalor of THE AUSTRALIAN. What had "promised to be grim proceedings at the inquest into the cricketer’s death took a grimmer turn early on day one." Hughes was "killed by a short ball that struck him in the back of the neck" at the SCG in a Sheffield Shield match in Nov. '14. The NSW side, "most of them his friends and former teammates, had no intention for this to eventuate." There is "no argument about that." Whether "they resolved to bowl short to him at the lunch break is a matter for debate." So, too, "unfortunately, is the suggestion" Doug Bollinger, who was "standing at square leg when Hughes was hit," had earlier uttered the words, "I’m going to kill you." The bowler testified on Monday that "in his heart he knew he never would have said such a thing," but conceded under cross-examination, "I may have, but I don’t think so" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/11). In London, Ben Doherty reported there was "nothing that could have been done" to save Hughes after he was hit in the neck by a ball as he batted, an inquest has heard. In footage of the delivery "played before the state coroner Michael Barnes," Hughes attempts to hook the ball but misses and is struck on the left side of his neck. In the aftermath, "he leans forward with his hands on his knees, before collapsing forward without making any attempt to break his fall." Hughes never recovered consciousness and died two days later at St. Vincent’s hospital. Professor Brian Owler, a neurosurgeon and the former head of the Australian Medical Association, reviewed the injury as well as the postmortem results. He concluded, "No intervention, no matter how early, that could have been performed to avoid his death." Owler said that the medical treatment Hughes received was "timely and appropriate." Barnes said that "the purpose of the inquest was not to lay blame for Hughes’s death." He said, "Quite clearly the death was a terrible accident but that doesn’t mean cricket can’t be made safer" (GUARDIAN, 10/10). The London TELEGRAPH reported counsel for the Hughes family said it had "raised concerns about the number of bouncers" bowled to Hughes in the match as well as "some of the verbal abuse," commonly known in cricket as "sledging." Asked about the period of play leading up to Hughes' injury, Haddin, who was captain of the New South Wales team, said, "It was just a normal game of cricket." Haddin told the inquest he did not "hear the alleged comments and dismissed complaints about the number of short-pitched balls" that were bowled at Hughes, saying that "the game was played in a good spirit." Hughes' family -- his father Greg, mother Virginia, brother Jason and sister Megan -- left the court before the footage was shown. Several players involved in the match "asked not to be shown the footage." Giving evidence, Haddin described the moment Hughes was struck by the ball, bowled by Shaun Abbott. Haddin: "It was like something I've never, ever witnessed before in my life when he fell down. It was the noise that he let out, the groan, and the way that he fell straight down motionless, without trying to break his fall" (TELEGRAPH, 10/10).
