Michael Clarke could not hold back tears as he delivered a touching
tribute to teammate Phillip Hughes, saying the Australian dressing room
would never be the same without him.
The Australian captain held a media conference on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the scene of Hughes' last innings and offered glowing tributes to his fallen friend. Reading the prepared statement, Clarke choked back tears during his address.
"Words cannot express what we all feel as a team right now," said Clarke.
"To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan, we share in the deep pain you're feeling. Apart from when he was home on the farm with his beloved cattle, Hughesy was at his happiest playing cricket for his country with his mates. Things we always put into perspective when Hughesy said: 'Where else would you rather be, boys, but playing cricket for your country?' We are going to miss that cheeky grin and twinkle in his eye."
Fighting back a fresh bout of tears, Clarke added, "He epitomised what the Baggy Green was about and what it means to us all. The world lost one of its great blokes this week and we are all poorer for it. Our promise to Hughesy's family is that we will do everything we can to honour his memory."
"His legacy of trying to improve each and every day will drive us for the rest of our lives. We'd like to thank everyone both here and overseas for the touching tributes to Hughesy in recent days. Our dressing room will never be the same. We loved him and always will. Rest in peace 'Brussy.'"
Clarke also revealed that Cricket Australia had agreed to retire jersey No.64 (Hughes' jersey number in ODIs) as a mark of respect to the southpaw. "It means so much," Clarke concluded.
The Australian captain held a media conference on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the scene of Hughes' last innings and offered glowing tributes to his fallen friend. Reading the prepared statement, Clarke choked back tears during his address.
"Words cannot express what we all feel as a team right now," said Clarke.
"To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan, we share in the deep pain you're feeling. Apart from when he was home on the farm with his beloved cattle, Hughesy was at his happiest playing cricket for his country with his mates. Things we always put into perspective when Hughesy said: 'Where else would you rather be, boys, but playing cricket for your country?' We are going to miss that cheeky grin and twinkle in his eye."
Fighting back a fresh bout of tears, Clarke added, "He epitomised what the Baggy Green was about and what it means to us all. The world lost one of its great blokes this week and we are all poorer for it. Our promise to Hughesy's family is that we will do everything we can to honour his memory."
"His legacy of trying to improve each and every day will drive us for the rest of our lives. We'd like to thank everyone both here and overseas for the touching tributes to Hughesy in recent days. Our dressing room will never be the same. We loved him and always will. Rest in peace 'Brussy.'"
Clarke also revealed that Cricket Australia had agreed to retire jersey No.64 (Hughes' jersey number in ODIs) as a mark of respect to the southpaw. "It means so much," Clarke concluded.
No comments:
Post a Comment