Aussie cricketers pay tribute to murdered boy

AUSTRALIAN batsmen Shaun Marsh and Steve Smith wore black armbands on the second day of the first cricket test against South Africa at Centurion Park, and so did every batsman who followed.

They did so to show support for the family of an 11-year-old boy who was beaten to death in Australia by a mentally ill father at a club cricket practice.

The visitors were marking the death of Luke Batty, who was bludgeoned and stabbed on Wednesday by his father in Tyabb, southeast of Melbourne. He died the next day in hospital.

Luke’s mother, Rosie Batty, who is estranged from the boy’s father, Greg Anderson, arrived at the cricket practice to collect her son. However, he pleaded with her for “just a few more minutes” with his father. In those few minutes, he was attacked.

Anderson resisted arrest and was shot dead by the police in front of horrified children and members of the club.

“It’s obviously a tragic set of events and utterly devastating for the people of Tyabb, especially the Tyabb Cricket Club,” said Australian coach Darren Lehmann. “Like everyone in the cricket community, we were shocked by the news. We’re obviously a long way from home, but we wanted to show our support and care for those affected.”

On Friday, Luke’s mother returned to the scene of the attack to thank the community for their support. “I am so grateful. You could just not get through this without people’s love,” she told about 300 local residents. Dozens of Luke’s schoolmates also paid tribute to him.

Victoria’s police commissioner, Ken Lay, said there had been five warrants for the arrest of Anderson relating to incidents of domestic violence. However, police officers visiting the home on January 27 were unaware of the warrants because of the failure of the police’s IT system.