A 17-year-old cricketer has died in a training accident in suburban Melbourne.
A local cricket official said Ben Austin was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being struck in the neck by a ball during practice at Ferntree Gully on Tuesday.
He was batting at the net, usually a practice field surrounded by nets, when he suffered the injury in front of his teammates.
On Thursday Ferntree Gully Cricket Club confirmed Austin had died.
“We are devastated by Ben’s death,” the club said in a statement. “His death will be felt by all of our cricket community.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends and everyone who knew Ben and the joy he brought.”
Mourners pay their respects at a cricket net following the death of Australian cricketer Ben Austin.
Tributes are left in the cricket nets.
Ringwood and District Cricket Association chief executive Michael Finn said Austin was warming up in the nets when the injury occurred.
“People at the scene provided medical assistance until paramedics arrived,” he said.
Cricket Australia released a statement on behalf of the family from Ben’s father, Jace Austin.
“This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we take some comfort in the fact that he is doing what he has been doing for many summers – getting down to the nets with his mates and playing cricket,” the family said in a statement. “He loved cricket and it was one of the joys of his life.
“We would also like to support his team-mates who are bowling in the nets. This incident has affected two young people and our thoughts are with him and his family as well.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. quoted Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins as saying that Austin was wearing a helmet when “the ball hit him in the neck in a similar incident to Phil Hughes 10 years ago.”
In November 2014, international cricketer Phillip Hughes died in a Sydney hospital two days after being hit near the ear by a ball while playing a first-class match for South Australia against his former team New South Wales. He was 25 years old.
New regulations for batting helmets in top-level cricket were subsequently introduced.
