The NSW coroner has formally found that cricketer Phillip Hughes‘s 2014 death could not have been prevented even if he was wearing the most modern protective equipment available, and that it could only be construed as a tragic accident.
Hughes died after being struck in the neck with a cricket ball in a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on November 25, 2014. The injury caused by the ball’s impact caused a brain haemorrhage and he died two days later.
Though some suggested that Hughes was deliberately targeted by fast, short-pitch bowling, coroner Michael Barnes dismissed any implication of malicious intent, absolving Sean Abbott – who bowled the fatal ball – of any culpability.
“Neither the bowler nor anyone else was to blame for the tragic outcome. I conclude no failure to enforce the laws of the game contributed to his death.”
There had earlier been much conjecture in the media as to whether Hughes’ tragic death could have been avoided if he were wearing more protective equipment, the coroner found no evidence that this was the case. He did express serious concern about the emergency procedures at the cricket ground.
“None of those on the field at the time of the incident knew how to summon medical assistance onto the field,” he said. “Although it was immediately obvious that Phillip was seriously injured, it wasn’t clear whose responsibility it was to call an ambulance.”
“An ambulance was not called for over six minutes after he was hit.”
Another crucial issue at the inquest was the matter of sledging – there’s been a lot of back and forth as to whether the sledging on the pitch had been particularly violent or intense, as Hughes’ family contended. The coroner did not buy claims by other testifying cricketers who (quite implausibly) claimed that no sledging has occurred, but also said it was unlikely that it had much influence on what eventually transpired.
There he have it: just a tragic, tragic accident.
Source: ABC.
Photo: Getty Images / Ryan Pierse.
