蜜芽传媒

We wake up every day to news of violence, disease, abuse and religious extremism but sometimes it鈥檚 the story of a single death that cuts through and makes us feel very sad. Such has been the reaction to the death of the rising star, the 25 year old cricketer Philip Hughes who died two days after sustaining a fatal injury when he was hit on the side of his head while attempting to hit a ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

It鈥檚 been called a freak accident but it鈥檚 shocked us more because most of us don't associate the warm sunshine and manicured greenery of a cricket ground with death. But just now we're left with the terrible image of Phil Hughes lying unconscious and the bowler, Sean Abbott, struggling to come to terms with what鈥檚 happened.

Cricket is a sport that still exudes a certain privilege and quiet reassuring confidence. Every sport carries risk, careers cut short by injuries and accidents, but cricket where the angle and pace of the ball can make or break your career, is still seen as a relatively safe sport. When my two older boys were at school they played cricket with a passion and for a while the eldest aspired to play professionally. Summers were taken up with cricket matches at home or away. They played rugby too. I always prayed that they'd come home in one piece, aware of the possibility that an unexpected phone call might bring bad news. When my eldest left for university he said I'd like to carry on playing cricket but I still miss rugby, the sheer aggression and physicality of the sport- you can't really match it.

I stayed quiet, conscious that my own fears were my problem. How could I stop him from doing what he wanted when I'd always tried to teach him to be determined and willing to take risks, telling him that God himself took a risk in the creation of human beings and that we ourselves go from the ordinary to the extraordinary only when we are willing to reach for what seems unattainable.

And in the end I think that's all we can do, allow our children to grow up with a drive and passion to do something they love, which brings meaning to their life and if they're fortunate enough, touches the lives of others too. We hear sports people speak all the time of their sport as their life, their dream. People play and watch precisely because of the adrenalin rush and the thrill of competition and risk. Many become heroes and idols of their game, but even those whose life is sadly cut short and who like Phil Hughes had the best playing years still to come, are admired and loved for carrying the hopes of all those watching from afar.

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