A Phillip Hughes plaque has been installed at the Members’ stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground to commemorate the deceased 25-year-old Australian cricketer.
It was at this very venue that Hughes was hit by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield mach that took his life. As the Australian team returned to the fated venue for the fourth Test against India, Michael Clarke and the home team paid a visit to the plaque placed just outside the Australian dressing room.
Skipper, Steve Smith, appreciated the gesture. “I think it's great,” he said
“We've just to make sure we're very respectful to the Hughes family that are going to be down here for this Test match. I think that's very important to us and very important to them.
“Hughesy was one of us, he was a good mate. To be able to walk past that and see the little fella... it'll give us some inspiration as we're going out on the field,” Smith said.
While Clarke visited the spot when the plaque was being installed on the eve of the Test, David Warner touched it before walking in to bat on the morning of the first day.
“I know when I go to face up at that Randwick End I'm going to be looking down at that spot,” Warner said. It's going to be tough but I've got to try and hold back the emotions and do what I do for the team and try and score runs.
“But every time I come here, every time I walk out on the field, every time I've got nothing on my mind I'm going to be thinking about it,” said the Aussie opening batsman.
On getting to 63 – the score at which Hughes was batting before being struck by a Sean Abbott bouncer – Warner knelt down and kissed the spot of the crease where Hughes fell, before looking heavenwards.
