Phillip Hughes has been honoured at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with his family in attendance as the Australian Cricket team return to play their first match at the ground since the tragic death of teammate Phillip Hughes.
Australia are today playing their fourth and final test against India at the same ground where Phillip, 25, was felled on November 25th after a fatal blow to the head from a bouncer ball during a Sheffield Shield game.
Phillip’s father Greg, mother Virginia, brother Jason and sister Megan are all expected to be attending. It will no doubt be an emotional day for them – his mother and sister were also there at the Sheffield shield game when Hughes was injured.
When it came time for Phil’s opening batsman David Warner to bat, he made an emotional tribute to his fallen teammate, kissing the ground of the cricket pitch as his score ticked over to 63 not out – the same score of Phil’s final innings.
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The score then remained at 63 as the team went on it’s lunch break for the first day, and the packed crowd all stood to applaud as they remembered the young cricketer from Macksville.
Cricket bats laid out in memory of Phil Hughes at the SCG Members pavilion.
In a touching tribute to the player, 63 cricket bats featuring Phillip’s image lined the Members Pavilion as fans arrived at the cricket ground. The tribute reflected the #putoutyourbats campaign on social media that saw fans all over the world lay out their cricket bats in memory of the player, whom Cricket Australia
Phillip was also honoured during the Australian anthem ceremony, with his image projected onto the big screens at the ground.
Yesterday, a bronze memorial plaque commemorating Phillip was also installed at the top of the stairs to the home team’s dressing room at the SCG, so the Australian players can reflect on his memory every time they come back from a game.
The plaque features the image of Phil’s face and recounts the cricketing of “the boy from Macksville” saying that he “faced his last ball on 25 November 2014, playing for South Australia against NSW at the SCG.”
Australian Cricket captain Michael Clarke inspects the memorial plaque to Phillip Hughes as it is installed outside the team’s dressing room
Australian opener Dave Warner commented at practice on Sunday ahead of today’s match: “Just walking out there today just brought back memories. It is always going to be in the back of my mind, no matter what… every time I’ve got nothing on my mind I’m going to be thinking about it”
Current captain Steve Smith, (who is filling in for injured captain Michael Clarke) said: “Hughes was one of us, he was one of our good mates, so I think particularly this week it’s going to be great to be able to walk past that and see the little fella there and give us a little inspiration as we’re going out onto the field.”
Australian cricket players Peter Siddle and Chris Rogers inspect the memorial plaque after it was installed at the SCG on the eve of their first match since Phil’s death.
“It’s the first time I’ve been back here since just before Phil’s funeral,” player Shane Watson said.
“It was always a time that I wasn’t really looking forward to, coming back to the ground. But in the end, enough time has sort of passed to be able to find my own personal way to be able to deal with what happened to Phil. I’m sure once I get out into the middle and playing, those visions will be coming back.”
It will no doubt be a tough day for all concerned.
