Cricket felt irrelevant: Smith, Cricket Australia remember Phil Hughes on fifth death anniversary

Former Australia skipper Steve Smith opened up about the aftermath of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes death after being struck by a bouncer five years ago, saying that the game seemed irrelevant then.

Hughes was 25 when he was hit on the neck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match in Sydney and died without regaining consciousness on 27 November, 2014. He was just three days short of his 26th birthday at the time.

Australia played and won a Test match against India 12 days after the incident, a match rescheduled after the funeral of the former player. Virat Kohli and members of the Indian team had travelled for Hughes’ funeral. But Smith said the match wasn’t one the Australian team was fully invested in.

“It was kind of a care free week if that makes sense, cricket wise,” Smith was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“It was sort of like, this is actually almost irrelevant in a way. We’re just going out and doing what we were doing and we actually played really well. But it was literally like we were just playing because that’s what we’re here to do. There wasn’t really any sort of too much emotion around our performances and how we wanted to play if that makes sense,” he added.

“You have little moments that come up every now and then, things that remind you of him and things like that. Comes up every now and then,” he said.

Smith had spoken about Hughes after being hit on the head suffering from a concussion during this year’s Ashes series in England. He was hit on his unprotected neck by a 92mph bouncer from England fast bowler Jofra Archer and missed the next Test.

“I remember getting up and my first thought was, I got hit in a pretty similar place to where Hughesy got hit, and I was like, ‘I’m OK’. It’s not fair in a way,” Smith was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

Hughes’ untimely death sparked a big change in safety protocols in cricket, with the new concussion substitution rule emerging from that incident.

Also read: Cricket’s concussion protocol: What does a physio ask a player who has been hit on the head?

The former Australian captain said that he believed cricket has become safer in the last five years, with neck guards becoming more and more common. “You’ve got the stem guards in now for that little bit of extra protection. Most players are wearing those now. I’m probably one of the last ones to finally take that hurdle. But I think the game is in a good place.”

Another former captain Michael Clarke, who was a close fried of Hughes and was among the pall-bearers at his funeral, posted a short message on his Instagram page, paying tribute to Hughes.

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said the country has felt Hughes’ loss everyday.

“Phillip Hughes was the very best of Australian cricket: a man dedicated to his family, a loyal friend, a popular teammate and a prodigiously talented cricketer,” Roberts said. “There hasn’t been a single day over these last five years when Phillip’s loss hasn’t been felt acutely by the Australian Cricket Family. He remains in the hearts of players, coaches, staff, volunteers and fans across Australia and around the world. He always will.

“Our thoughts today are with the Hughes family, and the Macksville community that Phillip called home. I can’t begin to fathom their pain or their sense of loss. Greg, Virginia, Megan and Jason raised a wonderful young man who touched the lives of millions with his generous spirit, infectious humour and audacious batting. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the Hughes family for everything Phillip gave to cricket and send to them our heartfelt condolences on this most solemn of days.”