Phillip Hughes's family wants first Test to go ahead: SACA CEO Keith Bradshaw
Following Phillip Hughes’s tragic death yesterday, there have been doubts regarding the likelihood of the first Test between Australia and India at Brisbane taking place, with the entire cricketing world in a state of mourning after what must surely be the saddest incident to take place on a cricket field ever.
A number of the Australian players were genuinely close to Hughes, and it is going to be extremely hard for them to recover from what has happened and concentrate on cricketing matters once again.
According to South Australia Cricket Association (SACA) CEO Keith Bradshaw, however, the 25-year-old’s own family would not want the Test to be postponed or cancelled.
"In regard to the Test match, (I can) only (speak) in terms of what I've heard, which is that the Hughes family are keen for that to go ahead," he said.
"Obviously that's going to be a question for the players and we must be mindful for the players and respect the players' feelings at this time as they come to try and deal with this tragic loss."
“Phillip was a popular, loved member of the team”
Hughes had moved to South Australia from New South Wales (NSW) a couple of seasons ago, and was an extremely popular member of the team. Speaking to the media at the Adelaide Oval, Bradshaw said that the players were “devastated”, and that focus will now be on ensuring the good health of Hughes’s colleagues and family.
"There really are no words that we can use to express or feeling of loss and hurt at the moment," he said.
"The players are devastated. They are shattered.
"Phillip was a popular, loved member of the team. They are trying as best they can to come to terms with this tragic loss. We are obviously supporting them through that with professional help, and it's an hour-by-hour, day-to-day process at the moment.
"Our attention now turns of course to the care and the love of Phillip's family, but also to our staff, to the players here in South Australia and around the country, the Australian cricket team and of course the New South Wales team."
No grade matches this weekend: Bradshaw
The SACA have also decided to stop all grade matches in South Australia from taking place this weekend.
"There is just so much emotion and distress here at the moment, so grade cricket will not be going ahead this weekend," he added.
"Cricket, everything else is just secondary at the moment to caring for our players, the family, and all those people that have been involved.
"And we'll just do everything we can to care for them and love for them, and make sure that they're as OK as they possibly can be."