It was on this fateful day three years ago, Australia lost one of their cricketing servants in one of the most unfortunate manners. Phil Hughes who was playing in a Sheffield Shield match suffered a serious blow on the head and fell on the ground unconsciously. He never gained consciousness and died three days later in hospital. It was one of the most unfortunate incidents in the cricket field and the bowler Sean Abbott found it tough to make a comeback following the incident.
He was batting on 63 when a short delivery from Abbott struck him on the neck after he missed the attempted hook shot. The southpaw was wearing a helmet, but it went through the unprotected area and struck him just under the ears. He collapsed to the ground before receiving mouth to mouth resuscitation and was taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney. He underwent surgery and was placed into an induced coma.
Hughes injury was cited as rare which was called as vertebral artery dissection which led to subarachnoid haemorrhage. The match was immediately abandoned and the two other Shield matches happening elsewhere in Australia was also called off immediately. Following his death, there were several calls for the improvement of helmets. A new additional protector was added to the back of the helmet to prevent the ball from sneaking under the helmet.
India was scheduled to play Australia in a Test series in a few days time. The first Test was postponed by five days as all the players attended the funeral of Hughes. The then Aussie skipper Michael Clarke got drenched emotionally when he was asked to give a speech on his little brother at his funeral. He couldn’t control his tears and remembered Hughes in every possible way.
On this day the whole cricketing fraternity remembered the youngster who had a premature end to a blossoming career. Here are few reactions on his death anniversary:
3 years have passed and I'm still missing you bro #408 https://t.co/4XqMIpff8C
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) November 26, 2017
We all miss you bro ❤️#408 https://t.co/bROr2rhVmF
— David Warner (@davidwarner31) November 26, 2017
3 years. RIP Phil Hughes. ?
— Adam Gilchrist (@gilly381) November 26, 2017
This time of the year is always the hardest. We will always miss you brazzy! ??? #408 https://t.co/pTq4ZLEN0P
— Peter Siddle (@petersiddle403) November 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/934920733414768641
Big day for @CricketAus to go 1-0 up in the ashes, 3 years on after Phil passed away. Always in our hearts and minds Hughesy. #RIP #408
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) November 26, 2017