Cricket Australia has confirmed that Australian batsmen Phillip Hughes has died in hospital just days after he sustained an injury during South Australia’s Sheffield Shield fixture at the SCG. He was 25 years old.
Hughes was accidentally struck on the lower back of his neck during the match from a bouncer delivered by NSW’s Sean Abbott and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
He had been admitted to intensive care in an induced coma at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital following the surgery and has sadly passed away this afternoon.
In a statement released by Cricket Australia, via Fairfax Media, Australian team doctor Peter Brukner said Hughes never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday.
“He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends,” said Cricket Australia in their statement. “As a cricket community we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
They also appealed for privacy for the Hughes family at this difficult time.
Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, said Hughes’s death was “a very sad day for cricket and a heartbreaking day for his family.” “For a young life to be cut short playing our national game seems a shocking aberration,” he said.
