17-year-old not wearing neck guard when fatally hit in practice nets
Cricket officials say priority is Ben Austin’s family and boy who threw ball
Teenage cricketer Ben Austin has been remembered as a “classic Australian child” and “a very bright light that has been dimmed” after he was killed by a ball hitting his neck in a practice session, in an incident in Melbourne on Tuesday described as similar to the death of former Test player Phillip Hughes in 2014.
The 17-year-old was wearing a helmet but not a neck guard, and while the incident is likely to trigger calls to make such protection mandatory at the community level – as it already is among elite players – cricket officials said the priority must be around supporting Austin’s family and the boy who threw the ball with a training tool known as a sidearm or “wanger”.
Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, Nick Cummins, was emotional in addressing media on Thursday. “He is the classic Australian child that we’re all very proud of,” he said. “An active, terrific boy, highly engaged in his team, very popular. And that’s what just makes it so hard, is it’s a very bright light that has been dimmed.”
