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Shock as Hughes dies from head injuries

Hughes collap
sed after being hit by a Sean Abbott bounce
r during a game, sendin
g shockw
aves throug
h
cricke
ting world
By AFP
Published: November 27, 2014

SY DNEY : Aust ralian bat sman Phillip Hughes died Thursday from a rare head injury aft er a
sickening on-field blow in one of t he highest -profile sport ing fat alit ies since t he deat h of Formula
One great Ay rt on Senna.
Hughes, who was due to celebrate his 2 6 th birthday this weekend, nev er regained consciousness after being hit
at the base of the skull by a rising ball while batting for South Australia against New South Wales at the
Sy dney Cricket Ground on Tuesday .
It is m y sad duty to inform y ou that a short tim e ago Phillip Hughes passed away , said Australian team
doctor Peter Brukner , adding later that he died from an injury to the neck that caused haem orrhage in the
brain.
He nev er regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday . He was not in pain before he passed and was
surrounded by his fam ily and close friends.
Hughes, who play ed 2 6 Tests, crum pled to the ground unconscious after the blow despite wearing a helm et. He
underwent em ergency surgery and had been in an induced com a since.
Phillip took the blow at the side of the neck and as a result of that blow his v ertebral artery , one of the m ain
arteries leading to the brain, was com pressed by the ball, explained Brukner.
That caused the artery to split and for bleeding to go up into the brain, and he had a m assiv e bleed into his
brain.
The condition is incredibly rare, he added, with only 1 00 cases ev er reported and only one known incident as
a result of a cricket ball.
His tragic death was one of the highest-profile sporting casualties since Senna was killed in an accident while
leading the San Marino Grand Prix in 1 9 9 4 .
Sennas dem ise, which prom pted a leap in safety standards in Form ula One, rem ains one of sports m ost
haunting deaths in com petition along with Cam eroonian footballer Marc-Viv ien Foe, who collapsed on the pitch
and died during the 2 003 Confederations Cup in France.
Test stars Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Dav id Warner, Mitchell Starc and Stev e Sm ith were am ong a stream of
personalities from the world of cricket who v isited Hughes bedside, hoping for the best, with em otions running
high.

An inconsolable Australia captain Michael Clarke was an alm ost constant presence at his close friends side at St
Vincents Hospital.
Were dev astated by the loss of our m uch lov ed son and brother, Phillip, his fam ily said in a statem ent read
out by a dev astated Clarke.
It has been a v ery difficult few day s. We appreciate all the support we hav e receiv ed from fam ily , friends,
play ers, Cricket Australia and the general public.
News of his death broke just before long-tim e team m ate Warner and his wife left the hospital in tears. Dozens
m ore play ers were hugging and cry ing into each others shoulders as they walked out m inutes later.
RIP y ou little cham p, we are all going to m iss y ou ! Lov e, pray ers to all the Hughes fam ily xxxx, tweeted
national coach Darren Lehm ann, while Prim e Minister Tony Abbott said it was a tragedy .
Phillip Hughes was a y oung m an liv ing out his dream s. His death is a v ery sad day for cricket and a
heartbreaking day for his fam ily , said Abbott.
What happened has touched m illions of Australians.
Cricket Australia chief Jam es Sutherland said Hughes had been taken away too soon.
Its an understatem ent to say that we are com pletely dev astated. Our grief runs deep and the im pact of
Phillips loss is enorm ous, he said in pay ing tribute to a hum ble, understated and hard-working m an.
Hughes m ade his Test debut in South Africa in 2 009 where he m ade 7 5 in the second innings at Johannesburg.
The left-hander followed up in the second Test at Durban with centuries in both innings, am assing som e 2 7 5
runs at the crease.
The runs dried up and despite play ing 2 6 Tests he nev er secured a regular place in the national team , partly
due to his perceiv ed weakness against the short, rising ball.
But with doubts ov er the fitness of Clarke for the first Test against India next week in Brisbane, he was seen as a
potential replacem ent.
That Test is now in doubt with m any of those due to take part close friends of Hughes who will struggle to focus.

A woeful Sean Abbot walks out of the hospital after the news of Phillip
Hughes death. PHOTO: AFP
Waqar fears for Abbot t s fut ure aft er Hughes deat h
Pakistan great Waqar Younis questioned whether Sean Abbott would continue in cricket after deliv ering the
ball that led to the death on Thursday of Australian batsm an Phillip Hughes.
How will he [Abbott] continue?, Waqar, one of the outstanding fast bowlers of his generation and now
Pakistans coach, told AFP.
He needs counselling, which I am sure m ust hav e started, and needs to stay calm , he added.
But form er England fast bowler Dav id Lawrence said he feared Abbott m ay nev er play er cricket again as a
result of the tragedy .
Lawrence is well-placed to understand Abbotts situation hav ing, as a 2 4 -y ear-old Gloucestershire pacem an,
bowled the ball that hit West Indies batsm an Phil Sim m ons who wasnt wearing a helm et flush on the head
in a tour m atch at Bristol, south-west England.
Sim m ons, now the coach of Ireland, went on to m ake a full recov ery but only after his heart stopped and
undergoing em ergency brain surgery .

He collapsed. They rushed him to hospital, and were able to sav e his life and take a blood clot off his brain
and he subsequently went on to play again, Lawrence told BBC World News.
Lawrence said the fact he could talk to Sim m ons was a huge help and he wondered how Abbott would be able to
continue bowling in the absence of such consolation.
What gav e m e com fort was I was able to see Phil Sim m ons 4 8 hours after, and he was able to tell m e it wasnt
m y fault, recalled the now 50-y ear-old Lawrence.
The bowler in this instance wouldnt hav e been able to do that. Hughes didnt m ake a recov ery , wasnt able to
talk to him .
So m y thoughts go out to him as well because whether he will com e back from this or not, personally I dont
think hell play cricket again, added Lawrence, whose Test career was cut short by an horrific knee injury he
suffered while running in to bowl against New Zealand at Wellington in 1 9 9 2 .
As well as condolences for Hughes, there has also been widespread sy m pathy from am ong the global cricket
com m unity for Abbott, with form er Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie, now the coach of English county
cham pions Yorkshire telling Sky Sports: Abbott is a lov ely y oung kid who was just running in and doing his
job, bowling balls and it was one of the last things that he would hav e expected.
We are really feeling for him right now and ev ery one who was there.
So far, there hav e been no calls from within cricket for bouncers to be banned and Lawrence was adam ant they
rem ained a legitim ate tactic.
I dont think any fast bowler walks out there, looking to inflict danger on som eone or for them to end up in
hospital, and lose their life, he said.
Its a part of the gam e.
You use it to rough up a batsm an, m ake him feel unsettled, and then y ou look possibly to pitch the ball up.
I wouldnt like to see that taken away from the gam e.
Lawrences v iew of the bouncer was supported by another ex-England pacem an in Matthew Hoggard.
You bowl it to be intim idating, but y ou dont bowl it to try and hurt people, Hoggard said.
To bowl a ball that has resulted in som ebody dy ing has got to be absolutely dev astating.
Hoggard added he hoped Abbott would continue his bowling career, say ing: Theres great things com ing from
him and a lot of people tipped him to play for Australia.
Hopefully he can get the support around him and find the strength to carry on.
Im sure Phil would hav e wanted it because it was a tragic accident.

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