Black Caps skipper McCullum heartbroken over Hughes

NEW Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, one-time teammate of the late Phillip Hughes, said he was thinking of the Australian during his fiery double-hundred against Pakistan in Sharjah yesterday.

“You are all in our thoughts, our hearts and, in Phil’s case, our memories,” said McCullum in a message released by New Zealand Cricket.

Hughes died of a severe head injury on Thursday after being hit by South Australia’s paceman Sean Abbott’s bouncer in a New South Wales match in Sydney.

McCullum said his team’s thoughts were with Hughes.

“Cricket is a sport, but the cricket community is a family. We are here for you, we are thinking of you,” said McCullum of Hughes, who he played with in Twenty20 cricket in Australia.

McCullum made a 188-ball 202 against Pakistan, studded with 21 fours and 11 towering sixes to help his team to a mammoth 637-8 on the third day of the third and final Test.

This was McCullum’s third double-hundred in a year, making him the fourth batsmen to achieve the feat, matching Australia’s trio of Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

The big total gave New Zealand a lead of 286 and set them up for a series-levelling win. Pakistan lead the threematch series 1-0 after winning the first Test and drawing the second.

McCullum said his team’s focus was not on performances.

“On behalf of the Black Caps, I want to make the following statement. Our focus at the moment is not on our performance, it is all about Phil.

“We are heartbroken for Phil’s family: Greg, Virginia, Megan and Jason. No one should go through what you guys are going through right now.

“We are reaching out to Phil’s family, Clarke and the Australian boys, medical staff, fans – all who have been affected by his passing. We are also reaching out to Abbott.”

Both teams abandoned the second day’s play in the third Test on Thursday after hearing the tragic news of Hughes’s death, and wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence on Friday as a mark of respect for the talented player. – Sapa-AFP