A teenage cricketer who tragically died had been hit by a cricket ball flung from a commonly-used coaching tool.

Ben Austin, 17, was warming up for a T20 match in Ferntree Gully, in Melbourne’s East, on Wednesday when he was struck in the head by a ball.

Paramedics rushed the teenager to Monash Children’s Hospital where he was placed on life support shortly before passing away .

The tragic death has sparked an outpouring of grief, with a number of locals travelling to the cricket nets where the incident occurred to leave behind flowers.

Cricket Victoria CEO, Nick Cummins, said details are “scant because we’re dealing with people who have suffered significant trauma”.

“But our understanding is that a group of boys were having a practice session and a boy was hit with a ball that was

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