My apologies if these words present in any way as self-indulgent. They’re not meant to. In fact, I’m pretty sure Phil, unless prompted, wouldn’t even remember my name. I was just another voice in his ear.
Also, what might be considered a breach of “client confidentiality” has been OK-ed by the COE.
Probably like a lot of you, I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch the Phillip Hughes vision. I’ve never seen the footage of Alex McKinnon’s injury either. The thought of both sends shivers through my whole body.
I wanted to write something – but what? What’s left to say?
Then last night, while sifting through some archived computer folders for an old cricket presentation I’d offered to send to a mate, I happened upon a file marked “Hughes P”. Part of me wanted to delete it immediately, another painful and unwanted reminder, but I couldn’t. I opened it. It was the report I’d written after meeting Phillip for the first time at Cricket’s Centre of Excellence (COE).
He was 20 at the time, not yet a Test player, but everyone knew it was just a matter of time.
The report only consisted of a couple of Powerpoint slides, but it was enough to jolt a multitude of memories. [Read more…]