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Reuters: Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died in hospital on Thursday, two days after the batsman was struck on the head by a bouncer during a domestic match.
Governing body Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed the 25-year-old had lost his fight for life.
“We are extremely sad to announce that Phillip Hughes has passed away at the age of 25,” CA said on its Twitter feed.
“Our thoughts go out to Phillip’s family, friends, and the entire cricket community on this incredibly sad day.”
There were no further details.
Hughes had spent a second night in a Sydney hospital in an induced coma after having emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
The batsman was struck on the head by a ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground, a devastating blow experts compared to the trauma suffered by victims of a car crash.
News of Hughes death followed calls by former players for the Australian team to abandon the first test match against India next week.
Questions about the response time of ambulances dispatched to the stadium were also raised.
The head of New South Wales Ambulance was to be hauled before the state health minister Jillian Skinner on Thursday after the ambulance authority issued conflicting statements about their response times.
The arrival of the first ambulance took 15 minutes, NSW Ambulance clarified in a statement on Wednesday.
The state’s median response time for the highest priority ‘life-threatening cases’ was just under eight minutes in 2013-14, according the authority’s statistics.
“Due to the conflicting information distributed today by NSW Ambulance regarding (Tuesday’s) response to the Sydney Cricket Ground, I will be meeting with NSW Ambulance Commissioner Ray Creen tomorrow to discuss the circumstances surrounding the incident,” Skinner said.
Dr. Peter Larkins, a leading sports physician, told Reuters: “Time is of the essence when your brain has suffered trauma.”
Family and players had maintained their vigil at Hughes’ bedside.
Hughes was wearing older model helmet, says manufacturer
MELBOURNE (Reuters): Australia cricketer Phillip Hughes was wearing an older model helmet when he suffered a serious head injury on Tuesday and the latest version released about a year ago might have offered better protection, the equipment manufacturer has said.
“There’s a number of differences (between the models) but with regards to Phil’s particular injury, the main difference is we have more coverage with the grill behind the ear and the back of the helmet is dropped down slightly,” he told broadcaster Sky Sports.
“The third difference is the grill is slightly further away from the head, so had the ball made any impact on that grill it might have deflected and helped but we can’t tell from the footage whether that would have happened.
“We’re going to need to talk to physios, medical staff and see where the impact point was.”
It was unclear from footage just where the ball struck Hughes, but Miller said it appeared the batsman was hit on the back of the head, just beneath the helmet and behind his ear.
He said the difference between the new and older helmets’ protection at the back was “a matter of centimetres” and that batsmen needed a certain amount of free space in that region to allow them to move and bat with comfort.
“This (newer) helmet’s been out about a year, eight of the 11 England cricket team choose to wear that. That’s all out of choice, not sponsorship, because they know it’s safer,” he added.
Helmets have made batsmen feel too safe, says Boycott
LONDON (Reuters): Helmets have given a false sense of security to batsmen, who no longer have the necessary technique to deal with fast bowling, according to former England opener Geoff Boycott.
The death of Australian Phillip Hughes on Thursday after being struck on the head by a short-pitched delivery has fuelled debate about safety in cricket.
“Most of my career I batted on uncovered pitches without a helmet,” Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“This taught me how important it was to have a good technique against fast bowling. You required judgement of what to leave, when to duck and when to play the ball.”
Boycott believes batsmen now feel impregnable at the crease, rather than playing with a genuine fear factor as used to be the case.
“Helmets have unfortunately taken away a lot of that fear and have given every batsman a false sense of security,” he said.
“Even tail-enders come in and bat like millionaires, flailing away and having a go at short balls with poor technique and lack of footwork. Helmets have made batsmen feel safe in the belief that they cannot be hurt and made batsmen more carefree and careless.”
Boycott believes that injuries are inevitable, whatever improvements are made in the standard of helmets and safety equipment.
“There are no guarantees,” he said. “Unless we batsmen wear a suit of armour, there are always going to be injuries in cricket.”
Sri Lanka Cricket conveys condolences over Phillip Hughes’ tragic death
The staff, players and officials of Sri Lanka Cricket along with the entire Sri Lankan cricket fraternity yesterday expressed sorrow over the death of Phillip Hughes.
“His loss will no doubt be a blow to the world of cricket,” SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said in a message to Cricket Australia. “It’s a very sad day for cricket. We share the grief over Phil Hughes’ untimely and tragic death with his family, friends and teammates and also with our friends in Cricket Australia.
“Being a youngster with much talent and promise his loss will no doubt be a blow to the world of cricket.”
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews said that the entire team was saddened by the young Australian’s death.
“We are saddened and shocked at Phil Hughes’ untimely death. The team is saddened by this shocking incident and we send our prayers and heartfelt condolences to the family of Phil Hughes and his teammates. Hughes was a terrific young player and we found him to be a very cheerful and friendly person. This is indeed a great tragedy and we share in the grief of his family and our Aussie teammates. We pray that he will rest in peace. Let the turf rest gently on him,” Mathews added.
New Zealand vs. Pakistan test suspended after Hughes dies
Reuters: Play was called off in the third test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Sharjah on Thursday following the shocking death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, which left the tourists in no mood to play.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) agreed to suspend the second day’s play and finish the test on Monday instead of Sunday.
“Today isn’t about cricket, it’s about Phil,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said in a statement.
“Like the rest of the cricketing family, the Blackcaps players and management are devastated to hear about Phil’s tragic passing. It’s an unthinkable loss and I can tell you it’s an incredibly sombre dressing room right now.
“To those who were close to Phillip, we extend our deepest sympathies. Our thoughts are with you during this extremely difficult time.”
The 25-year-old Hughes was struck on the head by a bouncer during a domestic match on Tuesday and passed away after two days in a Sydney hospital from the “catastrophic” injury which caused “massive” bleeding to his brain.
Pakistan, who lead the three-test series 1-0, were to resume on 281 for three with opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez unbeaten on 178 and captain Misbah-ul-Haq on 38.
“Today will be treated as a rest day, and the test will resume tomorrow and conclude a day later than scheduled,” NZC said in a post on their official Twitter feed.
The stadium scoreboard offered a tribute to Hughes, reading: “Sharjah Cricket deeply mourns the untimely demise of Australian cricketer Mr. Phillip Hughes - R.I.P” with an image of the batsman displayed at the opposite end.
