Australia prepares to say farewell to Phillip Hughes
Emotions still run high among teammates to attend funeral after untimely death of batsman
Cricketers and officials from around Australia began converging on the small town of Macksville, New South Wales for the funeral of Phillip Hughes as the impact of his untimely death on Australia and the international game unfolded on Tuesday.
Hughes, who would have been 26 at the weekend, died last Thursday from a catastrophic injury caused by a ball striking him in the back of the head during a domestic match, triggering a huge outpouring of grief in Australia and around the world.
Some 5,000 people are expected for the funeral on Wednesday in the small coastal town halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, where Hughes grew up on a farm producing bananas and beef.
I'd encourage everyone to give players their space and let them in their own way work through that
Among them will be his teammates from the Australia squad, whose grief at his death caused the postponement of the first test of a four-match series against India, which was scheduled to start in Brisbane tomorrow.
Cricket Australia have re-jigged the schedule with the series now beginning in Adelaide next Tuesday but are aware that even that might still be too soon for some players.
Chief executive James Sutherland said Cricket Australia would be understanding of players who still feel uncomfortable about playing .
"There's a funeral today. Let's just understand that's going to be difficult enough as it is," he said .