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Phillip Hughes Remembered: Friends Honor Cricketer On His Birthday

By Regina Avalos
Published on: 04:46 PST, Nov 30, 2014

Phillip Hughes would have celebrated his a birthday today, but instead his friends and those in the cricket community are mourning his death. The Australian cricket player died following a tragic accident on the field on Thursday. A bouncer from Sean Abbott hit Hughes on Tuesday, and he died two days after the incident. His fans and those in the cricket community are now mourning Hughes. Cricket Country shared the latest comments made by Brendon McCullum following New Zealand’s win on Sunday. New Zealand won a test match against Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs series.

However, the death of Phillip Hughes did have an impact on this game, and the others played in the sport since his death earlier this week. Some games were postponed following the man’s death. McCullum did speak out following his match about the impact Hughes’ death has had on the cricket community.

“We are nowhere as affected as the guys back in Australia, but at the same time, cricket is a community … it is a fraternity and we felt we lost one of our own. It hit the guys pretty hard and we tried to stay as close as we could as a group. We tried to spend a lot of time together and tried to talk through stuff and share one another’s thoughts. It felt incredibly hard to focus on the game and still hard to talk about the game. We will look back upon this performance in time and we will be really proud of what we have been able to achieve.”

Many of Hughes’ friends and teammates went to social media on Sunday to send messages remembering Phillip Hughes on what would have been his birthday.

Michael Clarke also shared his thoughts about the tragic accident that took Hughes’ life. He offered his support to Sean Abbott since the incident. Abbott bowled the bouncer who hit Hughes, and he has received counseling to help him deal with the incident.

Clarke made a statement directed to Abbott that made his support clear, according to Sky News.

“No-one — not one single person — blames him in any way for what has happened. He deserves our full support, he will absolutely have mine whenever he needs it, and I know that also goes for the entire Australian cricket community. Sean, when you feel like getting back on the horse mate, I promise you that I will be the first to strap on the pads and go stand up the end of the net to hit them back at you. It’s exactly what Hugh Dog would want us both to do.”

Tributes have been pouring in since Hughes’ death on Thursday. The Inquisitr reported on one tribute that has gone viral since news of it spread online. A man began his Phillip Hughes tribute by placing one solitary bat outside his front door. Since then, many others have repeated the tribute to honor Hughes.

Will this player’s death change things in the sport? A bouncer caused Hughes’ death. David Richardson, the president of the International Cricket Council, spoke to BBC Radio this weekend, and he was asked if changes should be made.

Richardson did respond to the question, according to Brisbane Times.

“We need to try and keep our perspective. It’s a bit early to determine, but my initial reaction is that that’s unlikely. People have died by being struck on the heart before. I don’t think cricket needs to over-react, but do what we can.”

Hughes will be buried on Wednesday, December 3, near his home in Macksville. Several representatives from the Indian cricket team have already revealed that they plan to attend his funeral, according to the Times of India.

What do you think of Phillip Hughes’ tragic death? Should a change be made in the sport?

[Photo: Michael Clarke Instagram]

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