‘We just knew that he was sort of looking over us’: Former teammates David Warner and others remember Phillip Hughes on 10th death anniversary

“When that first ball came down, it was almost like, ‘You know what? I don’t care what happens to me today. I’m doing this for my mate. And this whole game, this whole series, is about our mate. We just knew that he was sort of looking over us, (standing) up the other end with a cheeky smile, and calling us ‘bruz’, (and) saying ‘It’s going to be okay’. These are some of the days that I look back on, now that I (have) finished my career, and go, ‘You know what, could I have done anything differently? Could I have celebrated a bit more? Could I have cherished that moment more?,” Warner told Fox Cricket.

Warner was alongside Hughes when he was struck by a bouncer during a Shield match at Sydney Cricket Ground on November 25, 2014 before Hughes passed away on November 27. Warned scored a century during Australia’s first innings’ total of 517 for 7 and gave a tribute to Hughes when he was on 63, the same score on which Hughes was unbeaten when he was struck with the ball.

“Thinking back to the days leading into that, there was a lot of anxiousness, more along the lines of, ‘Should I be taking the field? As a team, should we be taking the field? There were a lot of thoughts going through … our heads. We sat down with our psychologist (Dr Michael Lloyd) and each individual had their time with them and sort of spoke about the life of Phil. We were trying out coping mechanisms to sort of be able to get back out on the field and get back in the middle training. I did try and go in the day before, and I just walked straight back out and didn’t feel like I wanted to be there,” remembered Warner.

Hughes was set to be named as Australian opener for the series and former Australian cricketer and then selector Mark Waugh remembered about the tough times. “I was a selector, actually, when unfortunately Phillip Hughes passed away. I was at the game and we were definitely talking about Phillip Hughes getting back into the Test side. He was at the forefront. Obviously cricket is one side of it … to lose Phillip in those circumstances, who was a great teammate of so many people, and a great human being, it was pretty emotional for a lot of players in that match and leading up to that Test match,” Waugh told Fox Cricket.

Clarke was part of Hughes’ funeral at the small town of Macksville and was one of the pall-bearers during the funeral. The former Australian captain too has opened up on the loss in recent days. “Losing Phillip at such a young age is a big part of my life. I cherish my life a lot more now than I ever did. I enjoy my journey a lot more now than I ever did as a youngster. I look back now and wish when I played for Australia that I was more like this. That I stopped to smell the roses and realise it could be over tomorrow.” Clarke told Codesports.

The then Australia coach Darren Lehmann talked about how the team had built a small shrine in the dressing room. “We had a little shrine in the corner for him. And all those little moments throughout the game, where blokes made hundreds or stood on the 408 sign or (with) David Warner kissing the pitch on 63, things like that resonated emotionally with everyone. It was a very sombre time. You can only imagine what we were going through, but times that by 100 or 1000 for the family. Somehow we got a result and relief at the end of the Test match. We got through it, somehow,” Lehmann told Codesports.