Before Phillip Hughes died on November 27, 2014, David Warner was with him when he was hit by a bouncer during a Shield match at Sydney Cricket Ground on November 25, 2014.
The Australian cricket community will be commemorating the 2014 first Test match between India and Australia in Adelaide as the two teams begin their second Test match in the Border Gavaskar Trophy there on December 6. The Adelaide Test was the first Test of the series in which the Michael Clarke-led team faced India after 25-year-old Phillip Hughes passed away a few days prior to the planned opening Test match in Brisbane.
David Warner, a former Australian Test opener, recounted the difficult period the team went through after Australia won the Test by 48 runs.
“I was almost like, ‘You know what?’ when that first ball came down. What happens to me today doesn’t matter to me. This is what I’m doing for my friend. And our mate is the focus of the entire game and series. We simply knew that he was referring to us as “bruz,” standing up the other end with a mischievous smirk, and sort of peering over us while saying, “It’s going to be okay.” Now that I’ve (completed) my career, these are some of the days that I reflect on and ask myself, “You know what, could I have done anything differently?” Could I have done a little more celebrating? Would I have been able to relish that moment more? Warner informed Fox Cricket.
Before Hughes died on November 27, 2014, Warner was with Hughes when he was hit by a bouncer during a Shield match at Sydney Cricket Ground on November 25, 2014. When Australia reached 517 for 7 in the first innings, Warned achieved a century and paid homage to Hughes at 63, the exact number at which Hughes was undefeated when hit by the ball.
David Warner remembers Phillip Hughes
When I think back to the days before that, I remember feeling a lot of anxiety, more like, ‘Should I be taking the pitch? Should we take the pitch as a team? Numerous ideas were racing through our minds. We had a meeting with our psychologist, Dr. Michael Lloyd, and each person spent some time talking about Phil’s life. In order to sort of get back on the pitch and resume training, we were experimenting with coping strategies. Warner recalled, “I tried to go in the day before, but I just walked right out and didn’t feel like I wanted to be there.”
Mark Waugh, a former Australian cricket player and selector at the time, recalled the difficult times when Hughes was expected to be picked as Australia’s opener for the series. In fact, I was a selector at the time of Phillip Hughes’ tragic death. We were undoubtedly discussing Phillip Hughes rejoining the Test team when I was at the game. He led the way. Cricket is obviously one aspect of it. For many players in that match and the lead-up to that Test match, losing Phillip under those circumstances—who was a terrific teammate for many people and a fantastic human being—was quite emotional, Waugh told Fox Cricket.
Clarke participated in the funeral service for Hughes in the tiny village of Macksville and carried a pall. In recent days, the former Australian captain has also spoken out about the defeat. “A significant aspect of my life is losing Phillip at such an early age. I now value my life far more than I did before. I never enjoyed my journey as much as I do today as a child. Looking back, I wish I had been more like this when I played for Australia. that I took a moment to appreciate the flowers and realised that tomorrow might be the last day. Codesports heard Clarke’s words.
The players had constructed a little shrine in the changing room, according to Darren Lehmann, the coach of Australia at the time. For him, we had a small shrine in the corner. And everyone found emotional resonance in the minor moments during the game, such as when guys stood on the 408 sign, made hundreds, or kissed the pitch on 63 with David Warner. It was a sombre period. You have no idea what we were going through, but imagine it multiplied by a hundred or a thousand for the family. After the Test match, we were relieved to get a result. “Somehow, we managed to get through it,” Lehmann told Codesports.
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Shubhangi Gupta is a distinguished content writer and the visionary founder of The Unpleasant – Acha Nahi Sabse Sacha. With a Master’s degree in Commerce from University of Lucknow, Shubhangi has seamlessly blended her academic background with her passion for reading and writing, embarking on a successful career as a content writer since 2019.
