Overview
- Ben Austin, 17, died on Wednesday after being struck in the neck while batting in training nets at Wally Tew Reserve in Ferntree Gully on Tuesday afternoon.
- Bystanders provided first aid before paramedics transported him to Monash Children’s Hospital, where he was placed on life support and later succumbed to his injuries.
- He was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, with multiple reports indicating he was not using a neck or stem guard.
- Details of the delivery remain inconsistent across reports, with some citing an automatic bowling machine and others a hand‑held sidearm launcher.
- Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia issued condolences, noted parallels to Phillip Hughes’s 2014 fatal injury, and said the community is rallying with tributes such as bats laid out and black armbands.