Phil Hughes honoured at SCG: Commemorative plaque placed outside Australian dressing room

The final Test of the series will be the first time Australia play at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) after Hughes’ death in November last year.

In order to commemorate late cricketer Phil Hughes, The Sydney Cricket Ground Trust unveiled a plaque, which has been placed outside the Australian change rooms.

The final Test of the series will be the first time Australia play at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) after Hughes’ death in November last year. SCG, happens to be the very ground where Hughes was struck by a fatal bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott on November 25. He was immediately stretchered off the field to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Captain Steve Smith says the plaque is a fitting way to remember their fallen team-mate.

As reported by ABC news, Australian captain Steve Smith said that he wants ensure being “respectful to the Hughes family” who are going to present in Sydney to watch the Test.

Smith said, “I think it’s great that the Trust has been able to do something like that for us. We’ve just to make sure we’re very respectful to the Hughes family that are going to be down here for this Test match. I think that’s very important to us and very important to them. Hughesy was one of us, he was a good mate. To be able to walk past that and see the little fella … it’ll give us some inspiration as we’re going out on the field.”

The plaque reads:

Phillip Hughes: 1988-2014

Macksville-born Phillip Hughes became the youngest man to score a century in a Sheffield Shield final when he posted 116 at the SCG during NSW’s win against Victoria in 2007-08.

The dashing and unorthodox left-hand batsman had earned his first NSW cap earlier that season, aged just 18.

Hughes made three more first-class centuries at the SCG, having quickly become a crowd favourite.

The boy from Macksville also became a hugely popular member of the world’s cricketing elite, forging friendships at home and abroad as as he accumulated runs.

Hughes scored 9,023 first-class runs at 46.51, compiling 26 hundreds from 114 matches. He became Australia’s 408th Test player during the 2008-09 tour of South Africa – a series in which he also became the youngest player to post centuries in both innings of a Test, and this, in only his second ever Test match.

He played three Tests at the SCG, narrowly missing a century in the 2012-13 summer when dismissed for 87 against Sri Lanka.

Hughes faced his last ball on 25 November 2014, playing for South Australia against NSW at the SCG.

His death two days later united the sporting world in grief, with Cricket Australia declaring him 63 not out forever – his final score at the SCG. His funeral in his home town was attended by thousands, with many more watching from the SCG.