Australian cricket was rocked on Thursday by the death of a teenage player hit by a ball during training at his Melbourne club.

Ben Austin, 17, was struck high in the neck by a ball delivered by a teammate while batting in the nets at Ferntree Gully Cricket Club on Tuesday, governing body Cricket Victoria (CV) said.

He was rushed to hospital and put on life support but died on Wednesday, his club said.

“The ball hit him in the neck in a similar accident that Phil Hughes suffered 10 years ago,” CV head of cricket Nick Cummins told Australian media.

Australian former test opener Hughes died in 2014 at the age of 25 two days after being hit in the neck by a short ball during a domestic match in Sydney.

Austin had been wearing a helmet but not a neck protector, Cummins confirmed.

Neck pr

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