Cricket Australia announces independent review into Phil Hughes' death

A giant screen shows an image of Phillip Hughes before a domestic match in Australia

An independent review has been commissioned into the death of batsman Phil Hughes by Cricket Australia (CA).

Hughes died after a ball struck his neck on November 27, 2014 while he was representing South Australia in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

CA in their statement said that David Curtain, a former chairman of the Victoria Bar Council and president of the Australian Bar Association, will lead the proceedings.

CEO of CA James Sutherland said the review was being commissioned to see if anything could be done to prevent a similar accident happening again.

“When this tragedy happened, I said that it was a freak accident, but it was one freak accident too many. Never again do we want to see something like that happen on a cricket field,” Sutherland said as quoted by cricket.com.au.

‘We have a deep responsibility and obligation to look into the events of that awful day to understand everything that occurred and then see what could be done to prevent a similar accident happening in the future.

“This is not an exercise designed to apportion blame on any individual for what took place. It is about making sure that as a sport we are doing everything in our power to prevent an accident of this nature happening again.”

He also said that CA has put in place certain measures to avoid such incidents in future.

“There were certain measures put in place soon after Phillip’s passing such as increasing the medical presence at all CA matches and working very closely with our helmet supplier to investigate the suitability of protective head equipment offered to all players.

“This review will help determine whether we need to implement further measures before the 2015-16 season. We fully recognise that undertaking a process such as this may be a traumatic experience for some and we will be as respectful and understanding as possible throughout that time.

“As such Cricket Australia and all states continue to make available counselling and support to any players and staff who feel they need help at any time.”

Curtain will be responsible to a report on the policies, practices or systems in place to prevent a similar accident in future.