On This Day In 2014: A Cricket Field’s Darkest Hour, Remembering Phillip Hughes

ON THIS DAY IN 2014: The cricket universe was left in utter shock and sheer disbelief on this day nine years back. It was Australian batter Phillip Hughes’ tragic death that perplexed the world. Days after being hit on the top of the neck by a delivery bowled by Sean Abbott in a domestic match, Hughes breathed his last in hospital on November 27.

The tragic incident occurred during a Sheffield Shield game between South Australia and New South Wales in Sydney. Hughes, who was batting for South Australia, wore a helmet when the ball struck him at the top of the neck.

He reached his fifty in that match and was going well until he faced a bouncer while batting at 63. He missed Sean Abbott’s bouncer and was hit. Hughes seemed visibly dazed and within a couple of seconds collapsed to the ground due to a cerebral haemorrhage.

Phillip Hughes, who passed away just a week before his 26th birthday, collapsed on the pitch after being hit by a bouncer. The southpaw received treatment on the field and he was later rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital.

As the cricket world mourns Phillip Hughes’ passing away we take a look at the late Australia cricketer’s career.

Remembering Phillip Hughes

Phillip Hughes made his international debut in 2009 at the age of 20. Hughes played his first international match against South Africa in a Test in Johannesburg. Hughes came up with a spectacular knock of 75 in the second innings of that match against the Proteas. Later, he also emerged as the youngest batter to register two centuries in a single Test match.

It required almost four years after his Test debut for Phillip Hughes to feature in his maiden white-ball match.

In his debut ODI, Hughes, who also represented Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcestershire, was up against Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 2013 and the Aussie opener could not have asked for a better start to his career in the 50-over format.

Coming to bat as an opener along with Aaron Finch, Phillip Hughes produced a scintillating century against Sri Lanka. Hughes’ sublime knock of 112 helped Australia earn an emphatic 107-run win against the Asian outfit.

Phillip Hughes’ rise in the limited format of the game was simply stellar and in July 2014 he became the first Australia cricketer to notch a double hundred in a List A fixture. Hughes succeeded in registering the highest score of his first-class career- an unbeaten 243- while representing Australia A.

In T20Is, Hughes’ solitary appearance occurred against Pakistan in October 2014.

Overall, Phillip Hughes ended up representing Australia in 26 Tests, 25 ODIs and one T20I. His short but memorable cricket career came to a shocking end in November 2014.