Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes has died in hospital, two days after he was struck on the head by a cricket ball while playing in a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Cricket Australia said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that Hughes had died.
“He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday,” the statement said.
“He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends.
“As a cricket community we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.
“Cricket Australia kindly asks that the privacy of the Hughes family, players and staff be respected.”
Hughes, 25, had been in an induced coma since the accident on Tuesday afternoon.
Hughes was hit on the side of the head when he attempted to hook the bouncer, delivered by NSW paceman Sean Abbott on Tuesday.
While he seemed to compose himself, the former Test opener leant forward, put his hands on his knees and, after a few seconds, suddenly collapsed head-first on to the pitch.
It was horrific, and the desperation of the moment was reflected by the way the umpires and his former teammates raced to his aid.
Broadcaster Alan Jones said on his 2GB radio program on Thursday that he had been told the “neurology is very, very bad, or in the language that the layman understands, the brain is very sick”.
“What happened is that the blow from the cricket ball damaged … a major artery in the back of his head and that caused bleeding over the skull and prevented blood from going to the brain,” Jones said.
“Today is a critical day. I repeat, this is much more serious than anyone imagined. Medical technology is currently breathing for him. The brain is very sick and we pray for miracles.”
This story first appeared in The Age
