The 25-year old batsman, who was hoping to regain his place in the team in time for Test match next week in India, died on Thursday, two days after he was brutally injured when hit by a bouncer in his head causing massive bleeding in the brain or brain haemorrhage. He was in an induced coma in a hospital in Sydney but failed to recover.
The batsman who hails from South Australia would have turned 26 on Sunday, suffered from 'massive bleed into the brain' during the game last Tuesday as Dr. Peter Brukner told media in a press conference. Apparently, he was hit on the side of his neck and caused his vertebral artery to be compressed by the ball. Consequently, the artery was damaged causing blood to go up to the brain which is a very fatal condition.
Right after the accident, a specialist who was part of the crowd managed to resuscitate him and was able to bring him to a hospital for further management. The doctors in the hospital were able to release the pressure in his brain and he was placed in an induced coma. However, two days after, he succumbed to his fatal injury.
The family of Hughes was devastated of the fatal accident. Michael Clarke, Australia's Test captain read a short statement from the family, "We are devastated by the loss of our much-loved son and brother. It's been a very difficult few days. We appreciate all the support we've received from family, friends, players, Cricket Australia and the general public. Cricket was Phillip's life, and we as a family shared that love of the game with him. We would like to thank all of the medical and nursing staff at St Vincent's Hospital, and Cricket NSW medical staff for their great efforts with Phillip, we love you."
Meanwhile, Sean Abbott was the one who had his bouncer hit Hughes on the back of the neck after he mistimed a pull shot. The freak accident caused the untimely death of Hughes.
The funeral took place on Wednesday while a family member told Daily Mail Australia that they cannot wait to see Abbott and give him a big kiss and a hug. It is an effort to console the 22-year old pace bowler. "We just want to tell him it was freak accident and he cannot think he had anything to do with it. No one is blaming him. We want to hug him and tell him that everything is okay."
During the funeral, Abbott was able to attend the funeral. He was fighting back his tears while with his girlfriend and team mates. He has received support from his team and from the family of Phil Hughes.
