Australia vs India 2020-21: India, Australia To Stand For 63 Seconds To Pay Tribute To Phillip Hughes
Nov 25, 2020 at 7:20 PM
On November 27, during the first match of the three-match ODI series, Australia and India will pay homage to Phillip Hughes to mark the occasion of his sixth death anniversary. They are likely to stand for 63 seconds of applause.
At the age of 25, Phillip Huges passed away because of a concussion while playing for South Australia against New South Wales during the Sheffield Shield match on November 25, 2014. This unfortunate incident occurred in Sydney Cricket Ground, where Australia and India are set to play the first ODI.
Why India and Australia will stand 63 seconds?
During the ill-fated match, Phillip Hughes was hit by the bouncer on his neck when he was batting on 63*. Although he was wearing a helmet, the neck guard was missing. And immediately after being struck hard, he collapsed on the ground and became unconscious.
Hughes was given first aid in the field but had no effect on his body; he was soon taken to hospital. He was placed into an induced coma as he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
All Sheffield Shield matches were abandoned as prayers started pouring in for Phil Hughes from all across the globe. In an unfortunate turn of events, he passed away on the morning of November 27, 2014, three days short of his 26th birthday.
As Hughes was not out on 63 when the incident took place, Australia and India are likely to stand for 63 seconds of applause. Further, it has been learned that Australia will wear black armbands with Phil Hughes’ initials.
Phillip Hughes’ incident brought a new ‘concussion substitution’ rule:
Following the death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, there had been several calls for “concussion substitutes” who could replace injured players and also bat in the game.
Thus a new rule was implemented from August 1, 2019, which says that following a medical determination by a team representative in the case of an on-field concussion, the injured player will be substituted by a like-for-like replacement approved by the match referee.
Last year, Steve Smith was ruled out because of a concussion, and Marnus Labuschagne was swooped in as his substitute and also became the first concussion substitute for playing international cricket.