Internet Desk: The family of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes walked out of the inquest into his death on Friday, with his father calling the Sydney Cricket Ground an “unsafe workplace”.
Greg Melick, the counsel for the Hughes family, attacked Australian cricketers over their failure to “recall” incidents that occurred during Hughes’ fateful last day of cricket. Melick questioned the honesty of the four cricketers called to the stand to give evidence during the inquest, asking why Brad Haddin, Doug Bollinger, David Warner and Tom Cooper answered questions with explanations like “no recollection” or “I can’t recall.”
The five-day inquest which wrapped up on Friday, has looked into whether he was targeted with short balls or “sledged” with unsettling comments from opponents, but has also exposed tensions between Hughes’ family and the cricket community.
In a statement to the coroner, Hughes’ father Greg wrote that he was concerned about the amount of short-pitch bowling to his son.
“By those balls not getting pulled up, of course this kept the bowlers continuing to target my son in an ungentlemanly way,” he wrote in the undated letter.
Greg Hughes added that comments made by the opposing New South Wales bowlers “were more abusive and intimidating then sledging”, raising the alleged “I’m going to kill you” remark that bowler Doug Bollinger has denied making.
“These slanderous comments … and the use of illegal deliveries in my eyes lead to a very unsafe workplace,” he said.
Hughes’ parents and siblings walked out of the court in Sydney during closing comments by counsel representing Cricket Australia, Bruce Hodgkinson, who said players were honest in their testimonies to the inquest, the Herald reported.
Hughes’ death rocked the cricket world and sparked an outpouring of grief.
The coroner is examining the manner of his death and can make recommendations to improve safety, with his findings expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain in November 2014 after being hit on the base of the skull by a ball during a domestic Sheffield Shield match in Sydney. He was only 25 years old.