From BBC

Australia Test batsman Phillip Hughes has died aged 25, two days after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball during a domestic match in Sydney.

Australia team doctor Peter Brukner said he passed away in hospital, never regaining consciousness.

Hughes, who also played for Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcestershire, was hit by a delivery from bowler Sean Abbott.

“It’s an understatement to say we’re completely devastated,” said Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland.

“The word tragedy gets used too often in sport, but this freak accident is a real life tragedy.”

Australia captain Michael Clarke read out a statement on behalf of the Hughes family at a news conference held at St Vincent’s Hospital, where the player, who would have been 26 on Sunday, was treated.

Speaking on behalf of parents Greg and Virginia, sister Megan and brother Jason, he said: “We’re devastated by the loss of our much-loved son and brother, Phillip. It’s been a very difficult few days.

Clarke reads statement on behalf of the Hughes family

“We appreciate all the support we have received from family, friends, players, Cricket Australia and the general public.

“Cricket was Phillip’s life and we as a family shared that love of the game with him. We would like to thank all the medical and nursing staff at St Vincent’s Hospital and Cricket New South Wales medical staff for their great efforts with Phillip. We love you.”

A clearly emotional Clarke then stood up and left the room.

Hughes, batting for South Australia, collapsed face first on the ground after being hit by a bouncer from 22-year-old Abbott during a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales.

Hughes had been wearing a helmet but the ball struck him at the top of the neck, causing the injury.

He had CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at the ground before being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he had a 90-minute operation to relieve pressure on his brain.

Abbott and members of the Australian national team, including Clarke, visited Hughes in hospital.

But his death was confirmed in a statement on Thursday.

“It is my sad duty to inform you that a short time ago Phillip Hughes passed away,” said Brukner.

“He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday.

“He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends.

“As a cricket community, we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.

“Cricket Australia kindly asks that the privacy of the Hughes family, players and staff be respected.”

Speaking at the news conference, Brukner explained that Hughes had died as a result of “vertebral artery dissection”.

Tributes were paid to Phillip Hughes at the Adelaide Oval

He said the artery had been compressed, causing it to split and leading to a “massive bleed” into the brain.

Brukner said the injury was “freakish”, adding: “Vertebral artery dissection is incredibly rare. If you look in the literature, there is only 100 cases reported. There is only one previous example caused by a cricket ball.”

Dr Tony Grabs, who treated Hughes at St Vincent’s, said scans had shown that the stricken cricketer needed surgery quickly to help get the pressure down in the brain.

“He had extensive surgery to remove some of the skull from around his brain to help allow the brain to expand,” added Grabs.

However, his recovery did not go as hoped.

“Over a period of the first 24 to 48 hours, he did not make very much improvement and unfortunately, as a consequence of the injury, he died,” said Brukner.

James Sutherland: ‘His best cricket was still ahead of him’

The Australian flag was lowered to half-mast over the Sydney Cricket Ground where Hughes suffered the fatal injury. Flags were also lowered at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to Hughes, describing him as “a young man living out his dreams”.

“His death is a very sad day for cricket and a heartbreaking day for his family. What happened has touched millions of Australians,” he said.

“For a young life to be cut short playing our national game seems a shocking aberration. He was loved, admired and respected by his team-mates and by legions of cricket fans.”

Australia coach Darren Lehmann tweeted: “RIP you little champ, we are all going to miss you! Love, prayers to all the Hughes family.”

England batsman Nick Compton, whose friendship with Hughes was forged when the pair played cricket together in Sydney, said the cricketer had a “huge impact” on his career.

“He was a very, very close friend of mine,” said Compton, who shared a house with Hughes when the Australian played for Middlesex in 2009.

“He was a cheeky, funny, positive guy. Looking back, I feel like he’s made the most of his 25 years and it breaks my heart to think of a guy who I certainly thought would go down in the record books as one of the better run-scorers in Australian cricket.

“I think everyone who played with him found him a complete revelation. He was a fantastic player, a real run-getter from a young age and he was really exciting.”

The England team also released a statement on Twitter, writing: “Our deepest sympathies go out to Phil Hughes’ family, friends and team-mates at this incredibly sad time.

“Phil was admired and respected by all he played with and against and will never be forgotten by the cricket community.”

Giles Clarke, the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, said Hughes was “an extremely popular and hugely respected cricketer in England and Wales” and “will be missed throughout the world of cricket”.

Former England star Kevin Pietersen said Hughes was “growing and maturing into a magnificent cricketer”.

“He was on course to do some really great things for Australia,” he said. “He had a brilliant start to his career, it’s just such a sad loss.”

Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar, who played alongside Hughes in the Indian Premier League, added: “Shocked to hear about Phil. Sad day for cricket. Deepest condolences to family, friends and well wishers. RIP.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement offered its “deepest condolences to the family and friends” of Hughes.

ICC chairman Mr Narayanaswami Srinivasan added: “We are all shocked and saddened with the news of Phillip’s passing.

Australian cricketers have been consoling each other at St Vincent’s Hospital

“On behalf of the entire cricket community, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends.”

Hughes, who had played 26 Tests, made his Test debut at the age of 20 against South Africa in 2009.

In only his second match, he became the youngest batsman to post two centuries in a single Test.

He played county cricket for Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcestershire and shared in what was at the time a world record 10th-wicket partnership of 163 with Ashton Agar against England in the 2013 Ashes series.

He has been tipped for a recall ahead of the upcoming series against India, which is due to start next week.

Cricket Australia had already decided to abandon the latest round of Sheffield Shield matches following the injury to Hughes.

After his death was announced, cricket officials from Pakistan and New Zealand chose to postpone the second day’s play in the third and final Test between the two countries.

“It’s a sad day for cricket,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said in a statement.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White added: “Cricket is a family. Quite apart from its super-competitive edge, it is a game of kinship, mateship and friendship; of camaraderie and community.”

A two-day tour match between a Cricket Australia XI and India, scheduled to be played in Adelaide on Friday and Saturday, has been cancelled.

In English cricket, Thursday’s planned release of the 2015 county championship fixtures has also been postponed.

The death of Hughes has inevitably sparked further discussion about player safety in cricket and the use of helmets.

“It’s an incredibly safe game, but I think this will shake batsmen slightly out of what might have been complacency,” said former England captain and opening batsman Michael Atherton.

“I wore the same helmet for 10 years. I never changed it. I didn’t give it much thought really. If there is that kind of complacency that I was guilty of, then I think people will be shaken out of that.”

Former England captain Mike Gatting believes everything possible is being done to make helmets safe.

Gatting, who had his nose shattered by a Malcolm Marshall delivery in the West Indies in 1986, described the incident involving Hughes as “just a one-off, a freak accident”.

IMAGES:

Players console each other at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. 27 Nov 2014

Tributes were paid to Phillip Hughes at the Adelaide Oval

Sean Abbott (right) leaves St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on Thursday

For more on this story and videos go to: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/30219440

Related stories:

Windies tributes pour in following announcement of Hughes’ death

From Caribbean360

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thursday November 27, 2014, CMC – A minute of silence will be observed before the start of the third round of the Professional Cricket League (PCL), as a form of tribute to emerging Australian batsman Philip Hughes who died on Thursday, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announce.

Hughes, who was in a critical condition in a Sydney hospital, passed away two days after being hit on the head by a short ball from Sean Abbott during South Australia’s Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales.

A WICB statement has called on all players and match officials to wear a black armband during their matches which begin on Friday.

“To honour the memory of our fallen colleague and show solidarity with our friends in Australia, we have asked that a minute’s silence be observed prior to the start of all matches in the third round of the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament tomorrow – and that all players and match officials wear a black armband during the match.” The WICB statement said.

“This is truly a tragic loss of a fantastic young player who promised to deliver so much for Australia and who has already done so much in proving his pedigree as a top flight batsman on the international stage”.

The WICB said that it was extremely sad to hear of the passing the 25 year old cricketer following his injury.

“It was with a sense of shock and sorrow that we learned of the death of Philip Hughes and I know that these feelings are shared by all who knew him and played with or against him,” WICB President Dave Cameron said.

“There is little one can say at such a time, but we would like to express our very sincere sympathy to his family, friends and all those involved with the game in Australia”.

Elsewhere, other former West Indies cricketers namely Brian Lara and Phil Simmons have given interviews paying tribute to Hughes.

For more on this story and videos go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/sports/windies-tributes-pour-in-following-announcement-of-hughes-death#ixzz3KK61ayut

 

Phillip Hughes death: Australia’s Sean Abbott ‘may never play again’

From BBC

The cricketing world is rallying around bowler Sean Abbott amid fears he may never play again in the wake of batsman Phillip Hughes’s death.

Abbott’s ball struck Hughes in the neck during a domestic match in Australia and the 25-year-old died on Thursday.

The Australia captain Michael Clarke and Hughes’s sister Megan spent time comforting a tearful Abbott, 22, at St Vincent’s Hospital.

He is receiving counselling from Cricket Australia.

But former England bowler David Lawrence, who hit West Indies batsman Phil Simmons on the temple with a delivery in 1988, thinks Abbott’s career could be over.

“I know what Sean is going through,” Lawrence told BBC Radio 5 live.

“My thoughts go out to him. I don’t think he’ll play cricket again.”

Phillip Hughes family

The “devastated” family of Phillip Hughes at St Vincent’s Hospital in Australia

Hughes, who played 26 Tests for his country, collapsed face first on the ground after being struck by a bouncer from Abbott during a Sheffield Shield game between South Australia and New South Wales on Tuesday.

Hughes had been wearing a helmet but the ball missed it, striking him at the top of the neck and causing a vertebral artery dissection, which resulted in a “massive bleed” on the brain.

Phillip Hughes, batting for South Australia, was hit in the neck by a short-pitched ball on Tuesday. He never regained consciousness.

Australian team doctor Peter Brukner explained Hughes died as a result of “vertebral artery dissection”.

His family paid tribute to a “much-loved son and brother”.

Cricket Australia is “completely devastated” at the “freak accident”.

Emotional Australia captain Michael Clarke “held bedside vigil for two days” – according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Flags flown at half-mast at Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground.

Tour match between a Cricket Australia XI and India, scheduled this week, has been cancelled.

Australia rugby union team set to wear black armbands against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Golfers including Aussie Adam Scott to wear black ribbons as a “sign of solidarity” during Australian Open.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott described Hughes’ death as a “shocking aberration”.

Live updates, tributes and reaction here

Abbott was pictured in the aftermath of the incident cradling the batsman’s head while other players waved medical staff on to the pitch.

Retired fast bowler Lawrence is concerned that Abbott’s career could be ended by the tragic events.

“When you turn and run in to bowl again, you are just going to have those images in your head,” Lawrence told BBC Radio 5 live. “Will he ever be the same bowler again? I don’t know.”

Lawrence was just 24 when he bowled to Simmons – who was not wearing a helmet – and struck him on the temple in a tour match in Bristol 26 years ago.

Simmons’ heart stopped and he required emergency brain surgery but went on to make a full recovery.

“What gave me comfort was I was able to see Phil Simmons 48 hours after, and he was able to tell me it wasn’t my fault,” Lawrence added.

“The bowler in this instance wouldn’t have been able to do that. Hughes didn’t make a recovery, wasn’t able to talk to him.”

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/30228827

 

Israeli cricket umpire killed by ball

From BBC

An umpire at a cricket match in the Israeli city of Ashdod has died after being hit by a ball.

A batsman’s shot struck Hillel Oscar in the neck, possibly after a ricochet from the stumps at his end of the pitch.

The incident comes just two days after Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a head injury caused by being struck by a ball at a match in Sydney.

Umpires in cricket, unlike some players, do not wear helmets.

However, such incidents are extremely rare.

An umpire at a match in Wales died five years ago after a ball thrown by a fielder hit him on the head.

Shock and sorrow
Mr Oscar was the former captain of the Israeli national cricket team.

He was taken to a city hospital, but medics were unable to revive him.

Saturday’s match was the last in Israel’s league season.

Correspondents say cricket is not a popular sport in Israel, though there is an amateur league largely populated by players from countries such as India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The incident took place amid sorrow and shock in the cricketing world.

On Thursday, Australian Test cricketer Hughes died of his injuries, two days after being struck on the neck by a bouncer in an Australian league game.

His funeral is due to be held on Wednesday.

For more on this story go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30260842