Sydney: The Australian cricket team has made an emotional return to the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch, where former test batsman Phillip Hughes was fatally injured during a domestic match in November.
Five members of Australia's test lineup playing on Tuesday — Shane Watson, Nathan Lyon, Brad Haddin, David Warner and Mitchell Starc — were playing in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia when Hughes — playing for South Australia — was struck by a short-pitched delivery and slumped to the ground. He died two days later in hospital. The ongoing test series between Australia and India had to be rescheduled to allow players to mourn their former state and national teammate.
Prior to the start of the fourth test against India, a short video tribute was played on big screens around the SCG followed by an on-field oration to celebrate the short career of the 25 year-old Hughes.
A permanent memorial plaque for Hughes was also unveiled in the Members Stand at the players' entrance to the arena, along with a display of 63 bats — to mark Hughes' score when he was felled — in the members pavilion recording key moments of his career.
Hughes played 26 tests for Australia, scoring 1,525 runs at an average of 32.65, with three centuries, including two hundreds in one test against South Africa in 2009.
