Ben Austin, an Australian teenager, died in a tragic accident while playing cricket in the nets in Melbourne.
Austin was training with a helmet but no neck guard in cricket nets in Ferntree Gully Cricket Club. He was hit in the neck by a ball thrown by a “wanger”, a hand-held device. Emergency workers attended him at around five in the evening. Austin was rushed to the hospital and put on life support, but unfortunately passed away. He was 17.
The Ferntree Gully Cricket Club confirmed the tragic news in a social media post. They also requested the fans to put their bats out – a tribute extended by cricket fans around the world when Phil Hughes passed away in 2014.
Ben’s father Jace Austin spoke on the family’s loss: “For Tracey and I, Ben was an adored son, deeply loved brother to Cooper and Zach and a shining light in the lives of our family and friends. This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers – going down to the nets with mates to play cricket. He loved cricket and it was one of the joys of his life.”
Austin Sr also expressed his sympathies for the bowler whose ball unwittingly resulted in the accident: “This accident has impacted two young men and our thoughts are with he and his family as well.”
Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins added: “The ball hit him in the neck in a similar accident that Phil Hughes suffered 10 years ago ... The entire cricketing community in Victoria – and nationally – is mourning this loss and it will be something that will stay with us for a long time. It is heartbreaking to see a young life cut so short, while Ben was doing something that he loved so much.”
Some cricketers donned black armbands as a tribute to Austin in the ongoing round of the Sheffield Shield.
