It’s the kind of headline no one in cricket ever wanted to read again. Ten years since Phil Hughes’ death shocked the sport, Australian cricket is once more grieving a young life lost far too soon. Ben Austin, a 17-year-old from Melbourne, died after being struck on the neck during a routine net session earlier this week, a similar accident to the one that took Hughes in 2014.
Unfortunate incident with 17-year-old Austin
Austin, a promising local cricketer from Ferntree Gully, was training at Melbourne’s Wally Tew Reserve when he was hit by a ball launched using a sidearm thrower who was using a wanger. He collapsed almost immediately. Despite paramedics rushing him to the Monash Children’s Hospital, he couldn’t be saved.
He was wearing a helmet but not a stem guard, the same neck-protecting flap that was introduced after Hughes’ death. “The ball hit him in the neck in a similar accident that Phil Hughes suffered ten years ago,” confirmed Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, Nick Cummins.
“He was doing what he loved”
Austin’s parents, Jace and Tracey, released a statement that read like every parent’s worst nightmare: “This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers — going down to the nets with mates to play cricket.”
They also expressed support for the teammate who threw the ball, acknowledging that two young men had their lives forever changed that day.
The echoes of 2014
Phil Hughes’ death had been a seismic moment in modern cricket. The 25-year-old batter was struck on the neck by a Sean Abbott bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match in Sydney and died from a rare brain bleed two days later. His passing forced the sport to look at safety gear differently, leading to the creation of the stem guard, a padded extension that protects the back of the head and neck.
But in the years since, many international players have resisted using it. David Warner once said it limited neck movement. Steven Smith described it as “claustrophobic”. Across Victoria, cricket clubs and communities are paying tribute to Austin. Ferntree Gully Cricket Club, where he played since childhood, called his loss “an enormous blow to our local community.” Teammates and rivals alike left flowers at the training nets.
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said the sport was “heartbroken once again.” “Clearly there are things we have to learn from this,” he said, “but right now, we’re thinking about Ben’s family and trying to support them.”
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