The counsel assisting the Hughes family has accused Cricket Australia of “prefabricating evidence” in a startling conclusion to the inquest into the cricketer Phillip Hughes’ death.
Greg Melick, SC, drew attention to the “inconsistency” of the testimony offered by cricketers present at the match, stating that “sledging has been part of cricket since time immemorial, the concern was why wasn’t it remembered by the players?”
Melick described the tactics of rival players against Hughes as “going too far” but conceded that the bowling plan adopted during the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia was “legitimate and appropriate”.
The accusations were strongly refuted by the counsel assisting Cricket Australia, Bruce Hodgkinson, SC, who asked the state coroner, Michael Barnes, not to be swayed by “unsworn and unsubstantiated evidence” and reminded him that “no allegation [of sledging] was made by a player or other official involved in the match”.
The parents of Phillip Hughes, Greg and Virginia, then left the courtroom during Hodgkinson’s submission.
In her closing submission, the counsel assisting the coroner, Kristina Stern, SC, said there remained a need for greater clarity around emergency roles at Australian cricket grounds, as part of a raft of recommendations put forward to the coroner.
These included a request for continuing testing and further research into helmet technology; the consolidation of emergency response procedural documents to be shared by Cricket Australia and the Sydney Cricket & Sporting Grounds Trust, and the better training of staff, especially in the provision of relevant information to emergency services.
The submissions drew to a close the week-long inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes. The coroner is expected to hand down his findings later this month.
