R.I.P. Phillip Hughes: Day 2 of Pakistan vs New Zealand postponed, India's tour game cancelled
Following the sad demise of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, day two of the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand has been postponed by a day. Play was meant to resume with Pakistan on 281 for 3, but following the passing away of Hughes, it was decided by both teams to not take the field on Thursday.
Play was initially suspended for an hour before being called off for the entire day. Proceedings of day two will resume on Friday and the fifth day of the Test will be played on December 1.
Pakistan team manager Moin Khan said that the whole team was shocked after hearing the news of his passing away and found him to be a cheerful guy, when he was with the Australian team last month.
“Both Pakistan and New Zealand decided to suspend the first hour of play. The whole team is shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Phil Hughes.
“He was here for the Australia limited-overs squad and was very cheerful. He was always ready to talk about cricket," the former Pakistan wicket-keeper said.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said: "Today isn't about cricket, it's about Phil," Hesson said. "Like the rest of the cricketing family, the Blackcaps players and management are devastated to hear about Phil's tragic passing."
India’s tour match cancelled
India’s second tour game, which was due to start tomorrow, meanwhile, has been cancelled. Earlier, there were reports that only the first day has been cancelled but there has now been confirmation from Cricket Australia (CA) that the game won’t take place as a mark of respect to Hughes. There are also doubts as of now about whether the first Test between Australia and India at Brisbane will go ahead as planned.
The CA XI v India match at Adelaide Oval has now been cancelled. It was scheduled for Fri-Sat, then moved to Sat-Sun but now abandoned.
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 27, 2014