The loss of a fine young man who burst onto the First Class cricket scene with the kind of attacking strokes that roused others how to attack bowlers shocked the world.

Test bowlers had found a way to beat him but Phil Hughes the young man from Macksfield in Northern NSW, was in good form and in the midst of mounting a major comeback to the Test Arena, when he was struck in the head by a bouncer at the SCG, the blow killing him.

The outpouring of emotion that followed was profoundly sad but what followed has proved cathartic for players, the public and the game.

We certainly are the poorer for losing a young man who oozed spirit and courage but the game also found a hero.