Kingstown: Their first and last names are identical but fate had different plans for cricketers Phillip Hughes, to whose title the prefix late has been added forever, and Omar Phillips, a West Indian who came back to life after lying unconscious for six minutes following a hit on his head.
When the cricketing world was mourning the death of the Australian cricketer due to a head injury sustained in a Sheffield Shield match, Phillips, standing at non-striker's end, was rushed to the hospital after being hit on the back of his helmet from a powerful drive from his batting partner during a WICB professional League game.
While unfortunately, Hughes' injury proved to be fatal, Phillips lived to tell his tale. "It has been a difficult situation for me in terms of having a seen a cricketer die of a similar injury. So that had been kind of bothered me at first," Phillips said.
The 28-year-old left-handed batsman, who has played two Tests for the West Indies, had no immediate recollection of the sequence of events once he lost consciousness.
"I don't really remember what happened after I got struck. All I remember was waking up at the hospital. At that time I kept thinking about the whole Phil Hughes stuff. And I was kind of scared because you never know with a head injury how serious it could be," Phillips was quoted as saying on a cricket based website.
Phillips said he was "a lot more relieved" after the scans came out clear but added that he was far from "fully back being my normal self".
"I didn't understand really what was going on at the moment."
As it came in the wake of the Hughes incident, Phillips said it was a difficult time for him and his family.
"It was a difficult time for my family. A lot of people were calling the house. They had also seen the Phil Hughes situation, so my family was trying to call me but they could not get through me because I did not have my phone with me while the scans were being done."
