The Randburg Cricket Club Juniors paid tribute to deceased Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on 29 November. Hughes died in hospital on 27 November, after he was hit on the back of the head by a cricket ball two days before. The 25-years-old was batting in a domestic match in Sydney when a fatal bouncer was bowled by his compatriot Sean Abbott.
Solidarity was shown all around the world, with cricketers taking photos of their bats rested handle-upright with their cricket caps on top, and sharing these photos on social media. A minute of silence was afforded by many sports teams playing matches in the days following. Randburg’s junior cricketers carried out both of these tributes. U11 and U13 players lined up at the club in Malanshof, resting their bats and caps with their heads bowed for a minute.
Furthermore, the U9 team agreed with the Khosa Cricket Club to have a minute’s silence before their match, initiated and ended by the ringing of a bell. “Whenever this sort of thing happens in sport it is sad,” said Randburg Cricket Club Juniors chairperson Jaco Pretorius. “I think the suddenness of it affects everybody immensely.”
U9 coach Tatenda Moyo said that he was glad his team could pay tribute to Hughes, and that doing so taught the players about respect, honour and sportsmanship. “It is not all about playing cricket,” Moyo said. Pretorius added that because of Hughes’ death, questions will be asked about player safety in cricket, and time will tell whether this affects cricket in Randburg. Randburg’s U9s beat Khosa’s U9s by five wickets on the day.
Details: Randburg Cricket Club Juniors josiecotty@gmail.com, 082 852 3719.
