Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died five years back on this fateful day after being hit by cricket ball just below his left year. The 25 years old Hughes was hit when he missed an attempted hook, causing cerebral hemorrhage. He underwent surgery after being rushed to hospital from the SCG but did not regain consciousness.
“There hasn’t been a single day over these last five years when Phillip’s loss hasn’t been felt acutely by the Australian cricket family,” Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said on Tuesday.
Australia’s premium batsman, Steve Smith, also remembers his friend on this day. Steve Smith, the former Australian captain and Phil Hughes’ teammate, recollected an incident when a bouncer hit him. Smith was hit on the helmet by a Jofra Archer bouncer in the first innings of the 2nd Test at Lords. Steve Smith said that he had a lot of things going through his head, but the first thought was of Phil Hughes and his freak death by a bouncer.
Smith also remembers how he celebrated his ton against India in the Adelaide test, which took place just after Hughes’ death. He ran towards the mark where 408 was inscribed on the ground and raised his bat to remember his best mate. 408 was Hughes Australian Cap Number.
“It was a carefree week if that makes sense, cricket wise. It was sort of like; this is actually almost irrelevant in a way. We’re just going out and doing what we were doing, and we actually played really well. But it was literally like we were just playing because that’s what we’re here to do. There wasn’t really any sort of too much emotion around our performances and how we wanted to play if that makes sense,” Smith said.
“Batting wise some pretty fond memories. I think I played well, got a 162 I think it was. And I remember getting my hundred and going over to the 408 on the ground and raising my bat and paying tribute to our mate we lost a few days before. I think some of the boys here were pretty close to Phil and five years actually it’s gone pretty quick. I dare say some of the boys will reflect and think about our little mate that’s for sure.
“You have little moments that come up every now and then, things that remind you of him and things like that. It comes up every now and then,” Smith further said.
Phillip Hughes played 26 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia, the youngest batsman to score twin hundreds in a Test. He also scored an ODI ton on the debut.
