Phillip Hughes’ family have paid an emotional tribute to their late son and brother on the 10-year anniversary of his passing, and thanked the nation for their continued outpouring of affection for him.
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Phillip’s mother Virginia, father Gregory, brother Jason, sister Megan and extended family members released a statement to the Australian public a decade on from his heart-breaking death on the cricket field.
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“Phillip was a loving, humorous and an infectious person to be around. He always aimed to make those around him smile and enjoy the little things in life, where his beautiful smile would come to life. He shined bright even in the tough times, which is a testament to who he was as a person, and we loved everything about him. He was the light of our lives,” the Hughes family begun by saying.
“Phillip had a profound love for his family and lived his life with respect to everyone around him.
“Phillip, the small-town country boy, became an Australian Test, One-Day and Twenty-20 cricketer, where he played on the toughest pitches around the globe, alongside the toughest of cricketers on the world stage, but never forgot where he came from and who helped along the way.
“He was a unique individual that took risky and adventurous strides to conquer the dreams he set for himself to become test baggy green number 408. He played cricket for all the right reasons and had the ability to take it all in his stride.
“He loved being a part of a team and representing Australia for the game he loved so deeply.
“The number of stories, laughs shared, phone calls and conversations wouldn’t be able to be told over a quick drink at the local pub, which leads us to having the opportunity nine years ago to create the official biography of Phillip – ‘Phillip Hughes The Official Biography’ that gave us the pleasure of sharing more about who Phillip was.”
In addition to Hughes’ biography written by cricket journalists Malcolm Knox and Peter Lalor published nearly a year after his passing, his family and the broader cricketing community will be able to celebrate Hughes’ in documentary form on December 6 — with ‘The Boy From Macksville’ to be broadcast on Fox Sports, Kayo, Cricket Australia and Channel 7’s platforms.
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“Ten years on, a documentary – ‘The Boy from Macksville’, will be shared alongside Cricket Australia, who we’d like to thank for supporting this endeavour and each person who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for creating a celebration of Phillip’s life,” the Hughes family statement continued.
“We hope we have been able to showcase that dreams really do come true and you will enjoy seeing his family, friends and teammates give more of an insight into his career from his baggy blue, baggy red, baggy green and many more moments in-between including unseen footage that can be watched for generations to come.
“We hope between the biography and documentary, young cricketers around the world and everyone that was with Phillip along the way, will see the hardworking, dedicated, devoted and rare cricketer he was.
“His extraordinary talent is known by many but his lasting impression of who he was as a person will always be remembered, which makes us extremely proud of him.
“Phillip was always proud of the younger cricketing generation he met along the way and was always hoping he could be an inspiration, no matter where you were from and that is also our hope.”
Hughes was an inspiration to so many aspiring — and current — cricketers during his seven-year stint as a professional, first debuting for his home state New South Wales as an 18-year-old.
Making his Test debut for Australia less than 18 months later in South Africa, Hughes hit 75 runs in the second innings of his first match, before crunching a whirlwind 115 and 160 the very next match; a testament as to just how bright his future as a cricketer was.
He would hit his third and final Test century two and a half years later in Sri Lanka, with five more half-centuries in the top red-ball format following.
“Cricket gave Phillip the stepping stone to start a new adventure of Four O Eight Angus, named after his proud baggy green Test cap number. Black Stud Angus Cattle farming back in our hometown of Macksville, where he loved the land and his animals and would tell anyone who would listen. The business was built on dedication and it’s a testimony to how high he climbed. He loved to symbolise his cricketing journey in his farming career as a tribute, which still stands proud today,” the Hughes family statement added.
“Phillip loved Macksville and the local surrounding towns, where he was able to come back throughout his cricketing years and felt right back at home.
“We want to share our appreciation to everyone who has respected our privacy and wishes throughout the last decade and continuing to do so at this time. Thank you for being on this journey with Phillip, he loved taking everyone along with him on this ride, living out his childhood dreams.
“It is essential for us to express our heartfelt thanks, sincere gratitude and appreciation to our extended family and friends, our hometown of Macksville and surrounding towns, to the wider cricketing community in Australia and overseas and the farming community.
“Phillip, we love you, we miss you and we are forever proud of you. We think about you every day and we are so thankful you were ours. Thank you for being the most extraordinary son and loving brother.”
Hughes was 25 years of age when he passed away on November 27, 2014.
He represented Australia 52 times across all three formats, with his legacy as a cricketer — but more importantly, a person — never to be forgotten.
