But then the public's worst fears were confirmed when the team doctor Peter Brukner confirmed Phillip Hughes had died during the afternoon. Australia captain Michael Clarke read out a statement on behalf of the Hughes family at a news conference held at St Vincent's Hospital, where the player, who would have been 26 on Sunday, was treated. Speaking on behalf of parents Greg and Virginia, sister Megan and brother Jason, he said: "We're devastated by the loss of our much-loved son and brother, Phillip. It's been a very difficult few days. "We appreciate all the support we have received from family, friends, players, Cricket Australia and the general public. SHARE 
 
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 Link "Cricket was Phillip's life, and we as a family shared that love of the game with him." Hughes, batting for South Australia, collapsed face first on the ground after being hit by a bouncer from 22-year-old Abbott during a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales. Photo: Getty Images 
 
 Throughout Thursday many from within and outside Australian cricket - including Sean Abbott, the NSW paceman who bowled the bouncer, David Warner, Matt Wade, Steve Waugh and Alan Jones - visited the hospital offering support and well wishes. Cricket Australia announced his death just before 4pm Thursday. "He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday," he said. "He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends. "As a cricket community, we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip's family and friends at this incredibly sad time. "Cricket Australia kindly asks that the privacy of the Hughes family, players and staff be respected." Phillip Hughes lost his battle to live almost two days to the hour since he was felled by a bouncer at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Photo: Getty Images 
 
 Within minutes the Prime Minister Tony Abbott issued a statement that spoke for a cricket loving nation in mourning. "His death is a very sad day for cricket and a heartbreaking day for his family. What happened has touched millions of Australians," he said. Advertisement 
 
 "For a young life to be cut short playing our national game seems a shocking aberration. He was loved, admired and respected by his team-mates and by legions of cricket fans." Australians' thoughts and prayers are with the Hughes family." "Phillip's meteoric rise from the small town of Macksville on the NSW North Coast to the Australian Test team, where he hit a century in each innings of just his second Test, will forever be etched in our nation's proud cricket history." After his death was announced, cricket officials from Pakistan and New Zealand chose to postpone the second day's play in the third and final Test between the two countries.
– Australia is in mourning for one of its top cricket players, who has died two days after being hit in the head by a ball during a match in Sydney. Phillip Hughes was felled by a ball that struck him at the base of the skull, below his helmet, causing what the Australian national team's doctor says was an "incredibly rare" kind of brain injury called a "vertebral artery dissection," which has only been caused once before by a cricket ball, the BBC reports. The batsman would have turned 26 on Sunday, and had been in a coma since he was injured. Prime Minister Tony Abbott issued a statement minutes after the death was announced, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "For a young life to be cut short playing our national game seems a shocking aberration," he said. "He was loved, admired and respected by his teammates and by legions of cricket fans."