Saturday’s Sheffield Shield round will begin two weeks of commemorations for Hughes, whose life was tragically cut short days before his 26th birthday in 2014.
Officials have taken a uniform approach across the board, with Hughes’ former team South Australia taking on Western Australia in Adelaide starting on Saturday.
Hughes’ New South Wales youth team will also host Tasmania at the SCG from Sunday, while Queensland and Victoria will play at the Gabba.
Players will wear black armbands for all three matches, while a moment of silence will also be observed before the match on the fourth day of all matches.
For the Sydney and Brisbane matches, Wednesday’s final day of play will coincide with the 10th anniversary of Hughes’ death on November 27, 2014.
Officials chose to use the Adelaide Test between Australia and India as the best time to celebrate Hughes with the national team, while sharing their plans with his family.
His passing will be marked when that match begins on December 6, almost 10 years to the day Test cricket resumed in Australia after Hughes’ death. CA has filmed a documentary together with Hughes’ family to mark the occasion, which will be broadcast before playing that Test.
Many column inches have also been devoted to the opener, who played 26 Tests for Australia and was destined to be a long-term fixture in the team.
“We understand this will be a moment of reflection for many people who knew and admired Phillip Hughes,” cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said. “We wanted to ensure that the Hughes family, in particular, felt comfortable with any commemoration and that we celebrated Phillip’s life and incredible achievements in an appropriate way.”
Hughes’ death two days after a ball hit him in the neck at the SCG in 2014 remains one of the most difficult periods in cricket history. The Macksville junior was one of the most popular members of the national team and remains close to the hearts of several Australian players.
Off the field, his legacy remains strong, with Hughes’ family still involved in their Four 0 Eight angus cattle farm on the New South Wales north coast.
cricket initially found himself at a loss as to how to continue playing, and Hughes was set to return to the Australian team when he was out on 63 at the SCG.
He was posthumously named as Australia’s 13th man for the first modified Test in Adelaide, where 63 seconds of applause was observed before the game.
