THE death of Test cricketer Phillip Hughes barely 48 hours after he was struck by a bouncer on Tuesday is shattering, not only for the cricketing fraternity but all of us.
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The wider community can feel only sorrow for the grief this incident has inflicted on his family, friends and the cricket world.
The high regard for Hughes was obvious among the constant stream of visitors to his hospital bed in the past two days.
His death will cast a pall over the summer as players, officials and the public come to terms with this loss.
The loss of such a talented batsman has inevitably drawn comment about a man recognised as gifted since his first-class debut for NSW at 18.
There were even comparisons between Hughes and the legendary Sir Donald Bradman when he made two centuries in the same Test in South Africa in 2009. He was the youngest batsman to attain that feat, being just 20.
He had been in and out of the Test team over the past five years and many cricket commentators, including former Test skipper Allan Border, were only this week calling for recall to the front line.
This, surely, is one of the saddest moments in the great game’s long history.
