Teenage Melbourne cricketer passes away in throwdown incident as Ben Austin was struck while facing throwdowns.
‘Felt across the country’ – Melbourne teenage cricketer dies after cricket training accident.
After being hit in the neck by a ball during training on Tuesday, a 17-year-old Melbourne club cricket player passed away.
Following the incident at Ferntree Gully in Melbourne’s outer east, where he was facing balls in the nets thrown by a sidearm, or “wanger,” prior to a T20 match, Ben Austin was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The helmet he was wearing did not have a stem guard.
At Monash Children’s Hospital, he was put on life support, but he passed away early on Thursday.
In a statement Jace Austin, Ben’s father, said: “We are utterly devastated by the passing of our beautiful Ben, who died earlier on Thursday morning.
“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.
“We would also like to support his team-mate who was bowling in the nets – this accident has impacted two young men and our thoughts are with he and his family as well.”
“The tragic circumstances of Ben and Ferntree Gully are…going to be felt across the country,” CA chair Mike Baird told reporters in Melbourne. “Cricket is a sport that brings people together, communities together. It’s also one that feels very deeply an incident such as we’ve seen.
“[It’s] hard to put words on it. What we want to say is that we are doing everything we can to support the family, the club, and all those impacted by this tragic news. Clearly, there are things that we have to learn from this, but right now, we are concerned about the family and trying to support them in every way.”
Nick Cummins, the Cricket Victoria chief executive, said: “We’re absolutely devastated on behalf of the family, on behalf of the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club, and more broadly, the Victorian cricket community.
“We are doing everything we can to support not just the family of young Ben, but also those at the club, and Ben played for a number of clubs, to ensure that they have the counselling and the support, not just today, but well into the future, as this is something that will stay with our community for some time.”