Ben Austin: Local cricketers down bats in memory of teen killed in freak nets accident
Community cricketers will lay down their bats in memory of a budding player killed in a freak training accident, as a wave of grief washes over the sport.
Ben Austin, 17, died on Thursday, two days after he was struck in the neck by a ball while batting in the nets in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne’s east.
His tragic death has led to an outpouring of grief across the globe, with more than $130,000 raised from thousands of donors to help his family create lasting tributes in his memory.
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On Friday, Ben’s family returned to the club where his love for the sport began and the scene of the accident, laying his bat and gloves down for the last time.
“We just wanted to be where he last stood, and then the sun came through the clouds. It was beautiful,” father Jace Austin said.
The grieving father remembered his son as a supporter of all sports and how he recently learnt of Ben’s passion for planes.
“To hear Benny’s voice again, I’d do anything. I’d give up everything. I’d swap places with him just to hear his voice again,” he said.
Before the Sheffield Shield fixture between Victoria and Tasmania at Junction Oval on Friday, players held a moment of silence in honour of the promising cricketer.
Another tribute was held at the MCG before the men’s T20 International between Australia and India, a day after the women’s teams did the same.
Overcome with emotion showing the cap bearing Ben’s number 512, Mr Austin said their local club president would take the cap to represent the family at the T20 match.
“Benny will be there. He’ll be there. He won’t miss it. The fact that we’re not there, that wouldn’t bother him. He would’ve gone anyway,” he said.
Ben was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and the bowler was using a “wanger” - a plastic instrument used to sling a ball, a friend told AAP.
The accident comes more than a decade after Test cricketer Phillip Hughes died after being struck in the neck with a ball while batting in a Sheffield Shield game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
