When he played his first Test at 20, Phillip Hughes became Australia's youngest debutant in 25 years and many saw the left-handed opener as the long-term replacement for Australian great Matthew Hayden. But more of an accumulator, Hughes has his own unorthodox batting style which little resembles the burly Queenslander.
Hughes' rise in cricket has been meteoric. His excellence earned him an A-grade at the Macksville Cricket Club aged 12, before going on to represent Australia in the 2007 Under-19 World Cup. Following the age cricket World Cup, the youngster enjoyed an outstanding first-class season with New South Wales scoring 559 runs at an average of 62.11. His heavy scoring continued the following season before he was brought in as Hayden's replacement for the 2009 away tour to South Africa, where he made his Test debut.
In only his second Test, Hughes became the youngest man to score a century in each innings of a Test, taking advantage of the extra pace generated by the likes of Steyn and Morkel. Despite the rise in his career, the southpaw failed to be consistent and was dropped soon. However, he returned to the side and with Ricky Ponting's retirement, became a regular in Australia's Test unit. In 2013, he was surprisingly picked by the Mumbai for IPL's sixth season.
Although he played no part in the league, he was still very much a part of Australia's ODI unit and opened the innings for them in the Champions Trophy held in England in the same year. Despite failing with the bat, the selectors persisted with him on the tour of India in late 2013. His scores read 43,83,22, 11,13 and 23 in the six ODIs that he played. All this time, he was still overlooked for the Test side. But Hughes didn't let that deter him and kept scoring a truckload of runs in the domestic league for New South Wales. An injury to Michael Clarke paved the way for another comeback, this time in a tri-series in Zimbabwe including South Africa. He was also selected for the 3-match ODI series against Pakistan in UAE but was dropped immediately after the first ODI. That unfortunately, proved to be his last international game.
On 25th November, playing for South Australia against New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match, Hughes missed a Sean Abbot bouncer and was hit on the lower back of the neck as he missed a pull shot. Although he was hospitalized immediately, the doctors reported that he never regained consciousness despite surgery and remained in an induced coma. A couple of days later, Cricket Australia issued a statement informing the untimely passing of Phil Hughes at the age of 25. A great loss of a great talent.
