Coffs Harbour to host Hughes tribute match

New South Wales will host South Australia in Coffs Harbour in next summer's Bupa Sheffield Shield in what will be the inaugural Phillip Hughes Tribute match between the two sides.

The game, scheduled for February 25 in what is expected to be round eight of the Shield competition, will be played between Hughes’s two former states; the late top-order batsman began his career with the Blues before heading to the West End Redbacks ahead of the 2012-13 season.

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Hughes's Baggy Green and state caps // Getty Images

The match, at the closest regional centre to Hughes’s home town of Macksville, is an opportunity for the local community to celebrate Hughes's life and career alongside his former teammates and support the game he was passionate about.

"Phillip was a wonderful player for NSW, South Australia and Australia, and a proud representative of Macksville and North Coast cricket," Cricket NSW chief executive Andrew Jones said.

"Cricket NSW is delighted that with the support of the Coffs Harbour City Council, we are able to play a tribute match in a region where Phillip was and will forever remain a favourite son."

SACA chief executive Keith Bradshaw added: "This match is but one way to remember our friend and much-loved team mate so close to his home town."

Hughes lost his life on November 27, 2014, two days after being struck by a short ball while playing for South Australia against the Blues at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

His death triggered an unprecedented outpouring of emotion worldwide, and last month Cricket Australia commissioned an independent review into the accident in a bid to prevent anything similar from happening again.

Tributes to Hughes came from far and wide after the death of the popular batsman three days short of his 26th birthday, beginning with the universally adopted '#Putoutyourbats' social media trend and even encompassing a match in Nepal in April.

Cricket NSW's deal with Coffs Harbour will see not only the Phillip Hughes Tribute match played at the Coffs International Stadium this summer but also a NSW Second XI match, with visits from the Sydney Sixers and a Cricket NSW Academy State Challenge to follow in subsequent years.

The full international and domestic schedule for Australian cricket is due to be released this week.

Special tribute to Phillip Hughes