Former Australian batsman Michael Slater said that the demise of Phillip Hughes has changed cricket forever, leaving the whole country mourning for him.
Hughes passed away on Thursday after succumbing to injuries he endured from a bouncer at the SCG on Tuesday at St Vincent's Hospital. The 25-year-old South Australian batsman, who was pushing for a Test recall against India in Brisbane next week, was knocked out after the ball made impact under his helmet, behind his left ear.
According to Slater, his death has left a country weeping as Hughes was a determined fighter. This was reiterated by the fact that he came back strongly by scoring lots of runs after being dropped by Australia, he added. Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the whole incident as a shocking aberration, the BBC reported.
Former Australian pace bowler Jason Gillespie said the whole incident has numbed him and rocked the sport of cricket to the core.
Following the tragic incident, the tour match between India and Cricket Australia XI has been officially called off.
Describing the death of Hughes as freak accident, former England Captain Michael Vaughan, however, said that the aggressive nature of the sport should be allowed to continue as it is a high level of sport. Referring last Ashes series, he said that cricket has gone beyond respect over the past few years and hopes the incident would send a message worldwide to bring down on-field verbal abuse.