Michael Clarke remembers Phil Hughes on his birth anniversary

November 30, 2020, Monday marks the 32nd birth anniversary of Phil Hughes. The batsman was touted as the next big thing in Australia cricket and was headed for great things. However, his journey was cut short as in a cruel twist of fate he was hit by a bouncer on his left ear while playing for New South Wales in Sheffield Shield on November 25, 2014.

The batsman was playing on 63 when he collapsed on the bouncer by Sean Abbott and that is the last of Phil Hughes that the cricket field will ever see. The former cricketer breathed his last on November 27, 2014 but he would always remain 63 not out in the hearts of cricket enthusiasts.

Though this particular tragedy shook the entire cricket fraternity, former Australian captain Michael Clarke was left devastated. Clarke and Hughes shared a good bond with each other and were quite often spotted together on trips and outings. Clarke was leading the national squad at that time.

Remembering Phil Hughes on his birth anniversary, the former Australian captain got emotional. He took to his official Instagram handle to pay a tribute to Hughes and stated that he would always be there in his heart. Clarke shared a picture which features Hughes’ cap along with the candles. Michael wrote, “VRB for you Bruz, happy birthday mate #408 #64”

Phil Hughes’ short international career

Phil Hughes played as many as 114 first-class games aggregating 9023 runs at an average of 46.5 with 26 hundreds and 46 fifties and unbeaten 243 being his highest first-class score for Australia A. Since his List A debut for NSW against Victoria in November 2007, Phil featured in 90 games collecting 3607 runs at an average of 47.5.

He had also registered his name as the first Australian to score a double hundred in a List A game. Hughes was awarded the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year Award in 2009. Phil was added into the national squad for the Australia tour of South Africa. Though he scored a duck on his debut, he redeemed himself by scoring three Test tons in 26 games.

His Test figures read 1535 runs in 26 Test matches at an average of 32.6. The left-hander had stunning records in One Day Internationals as he had collected 826 ODI runs in 25 games at 35.91, and hit 2 centuries.