Coroner's inquest for Hughes death

A coroner's inquest will be held into last November’s tragic death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The NSW State Coroner’s Inquest comes in addition to Cricket Australia’s commissioning of an independent review.

CA said it will co-operate fully with the inquest including providing findings from its own independent review into the incident that is being chaired by David Curtain QC.

“We have had open dialogue with the New South Wales Crown Solicitor and have indicated that we will be as cooperative as possible with any coronial inquest,” a CA spokesman said.

“We remain absolutely determined to see if anything could be done to prevent a similar accident happening again. Never again do we want to see a tragedy of that nature happen on a cricket field.

“We believe it is entirely appropriate to progress our own independent review into the incident to help determine if we need to implement any further safety measures in time for the 2015-16 season.

“We will share the findings of that review with the coroner if requested.”

Fairfax reported a coroner's court spokesman on Friday saying that a date for the inquest will be set on September 29, while the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office had begun subpoenaing documents relating to the incident.

The independent review commissioned by CA will focus on the cause and circumstances of Hughes’s death and will make recommendations for future tournaments, competitions, matches and official training sessions conducted under the auspices of the governing body.

Among the terms of reference for the review, which is expected to deliver its findings prior to the start of the 2015-16 Australian season, will be an examination of CA’s approach to the medical screening of its contracted players with a focus on those with specific, identifiable vulnerabilities. 

“When this (Phillip Hughes) tragedy happened, I said that it was a freak accident, but it was one freak accident too many,” CA CEO James Sutherland said in May.

“Never again do we want to see something like that happen on a cricket field.

“We have a deep responsibility and obligation to look into the events of that awful day to understand everything that occurred and then see what could be done to prevent a similar accident happening in the future.

“This is not an exercise designed to apportion blame on any individual for what took place.

“It is about making sure that as a sport we are doing everything in our power to prevent an accident of this nature happening again.

“There were certain measures put in place soon after Phillip’s passing such as increasing the medical presence at all CA matches and working very closely with our helmet supplier to investigate the suitability of protective head equipment offered to all players.

“This review will help determine whether we need to implement further measures before the 2015-16 season.”