10 years on - Simon Katich’s touching tribute to Phillip Hughes following his passing in 2014

Phillip Joel Hughes 1988-2014

Australian Test player no. 408

The cricket world was stunned on 27 November 2014 when the news broke that Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes had passed away. He had been struck by a ball two days earlier from New South Wales pace bowler Sean Abbott in the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Simon Katich, a team mate of Phillip’s for New South Wales and Australia, put together the following fitting tribute to the talented opening batsman at the time of Hughes' passing on the Athlete’s Voice.

Read Katich's tribute 10 years on below.

I still cannot believe what happened to our little mate on Tuesday afternoon in the middle of the SCG. A ground that has seen many memorable moments on the hallowed turf from Bradman to Lockett. But when Phil Hughes collapsed at the wicket and lay motionless, it had seen its most shocking and heart-breaking moment.

The cricketing world is mourning the tragic loss of one of our brothers. The pain we are all feeling is immeasurable because of the person our little mate Hughesy was.

My nickname for him was "Luigi", because of his mum Virginia's Italian heritage and the fact he could grow a full beard in less than a day! He was cheeky, charming, humble, respectful and confident. But most importantly, he had been brought up by his beautiful parents Greg and Virginia to never forget where he came from. He was a country kid with a huge smile that lit up the room and his fun-loving and happy-go-lucky nature made him a pleasure to be around.

I first met Hughesy back in 2007 when he forced his way into the NSW Sheffield Shield team as a 19-year-old. When he became the youngest player in history to score a ton in the Pura Cup (Sheffield Shield) final of 2007-08, we knew we were witnessing a very special talent.

I was fortunate to be out there with him when he raised his ton and the celebration we witnessed was as good as any in the history of the game. The NSW boys still talk about it to this day.

My other memory of Hughesy from the final was that he was right by my side in the team photo with the Pura Cup, and the smile on his face told it all. He had the most amazing cheeky grin that will forever be in our memories.

For the first few years of his career at NSW, I always felt like he was my little shadow.

Whenever I would be watching the boys batting, he would be there sitting next to me on the balcony. He was even cheeky enough to get himself into third slip when we were fielding, which meant he was just metres away from me at first slip. In the old days, he would have done his time at short leg and even though he was built for short leg, he was smart enough to be that bad at it we got him out of there.

He even managed to avoid doing it when he came into the Aussie team in 2009 in South Africa. I'll never forget playing our tour match at Potchefstroom and thinking that with Hughesy likely to make his debut, I would finally be able to hand over the short leg shin pads to him. When I was told by Punter (Ricky Ponting) that that would not be happening, the little bugger laughed his head off, knowing my old back was going to be stiff from more days of squatting down while he could sit back and enjoy the show!

Only Hughesy could've got away with that and he would always tell Punter how good I was in there just to really make sure he was safe from the dreaded job.

When Hughesy got the nod to play the first Test in South Africa in 2009, we joked to each other that it would be the first time in Australian Test history that "two hairy wogs" would open the batting for Australia. It was our special bond even though our games were the complete opposite. We loved opening the batting together and in the second Test in Durban in 2009 we all witnessed two of the most amazing innings against one of the best attacks in the world at the time. What he did to Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis in those two innings was simply breathtaking as he played with the freedom of youth and not a care in the world.

He was still the same character whether he made a duck or 100. He loved making runs just as much as he loved his bulls back home in Macksville and when he spoke about either, he had that glint in his eye that told you these were his two passions.

The game of cricket can be very cruel to those who play it. In this instance, words cannot describe how cruel it has been to Hughesy, his family and to Sean Abbott and the rest of the NSW boys. Nobody deserved to witness this tragic outcome, particularly when playing a game they all love dearly.

That is why when the boys are ready, they will honour our mate Hughesy by going back out there and playing with the passion and skill that he displayed so many times during his career. I know that will be extremely difficult to do but he would have wanted it that way and it is heartbreaking to think that he can't be a part of that in the years to come.

I believe we hadn't seen the best of him at Test level. At the tender age of 25, he still had many years in him to come back and show us all how good he was. He had it in him to fight back just as greats like Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had done after being in and out of the team. He had the heart and work ethic of all these greats and it was only a matter of time before he broke through the mental barrier that Test cricket makes you overcome to be a consistent performer.

To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan, we are all deeply saddened and heartbroken by the loss of your beautiful son and brother Phillip. The great times we shared together as teammates will never be forgotten. He was a magnificent cricketer but more importantly he will be remembered for being the down-to-earth, fun-loving kid from Macksville who touched us all for who he was as a person.

Rest in peace, Luigi. Like the whole of Australia, I will miss you enormously little fella!