Ben Austin: Teen killed in freak cricket accident to be farewelled

Ben Austin loved watching cricket at Junction Oval.

Now, it’s where his heartbroken family and friends will bid their final farewell to the young cricketer who never came home from training after a freak accident.

The 17-year-old died after being struck in the neck by a ball while batting in the nets in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne’s east on October 30.

Teammates rushed to help before paramedics took him in a critical condition to hospital, where he later died.

Mourners have been encouraged to wear their cricket club jerseys, scarves or a splash of colour to his funeral on Thursday at the historic oval in St Kilda.

Family members are expected to deliver the eulogy and a hearse will complete a lap around the ground in Ben’s honour before he is laid to rest at a private burial.

His father Jayce previously described what happened as a freak accident that impacted not just Ben but his teammate who was bowling in the nets.

Ben was wearing a helmet and the bowler was using a “wanger” - a plastic instrument used to sling a ball, a friend told AAP at the time.

Mr Austin has encouraged people to continue playing the sport his son loved.

“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,” Mr Austin and Ben’s mother Tracey said.

The teen’s death prompted an outpouring of grief and support across the cricketing world, including community players laying down their bats in his memory and a minute’s silence before professional matches.

More than $180,000 has been raised to support the Austin family.

The accident came more than a decade after the 2014 death of Test cricketer Phillip Hughes, who was struck in the neck with a ball while batting in a Sheffield Shield game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.