Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, two of the best cricketers in the world, were seen on the night of the ODI World Cup 2023 final with a black armband with the word “PH” printed on it. The gesture by the cricket players served as a tribute to the Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, who sadly passed away on November 27, 2014. After a hard bouncer from Sean Abbott struck the hitter’s head during a Shield game, the batter passed away.
Michael Clarke, the captain of the 2015 World Cup-winning team, honored him following their fifth victory; more recently, Mitchell Starc and Smith did the same.
In addition to having a tattoo of Phillip Hughes on his hand, Travis Head, the 2023 World Cup hero from Australia, has a picture of the two of them cuddling up on the cover of X (previously Twitter).
Just realised Mitchell Starc was wearing ‘PH’ black armband in the final.
In memory of Phillip Hughes. It has been nine years since he passed away. Truly never forgotten! #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/qMQpr22zsv
— Kalyani Mangale (@MangaleKalyani) November 20, 2023
Remarkably, Head suffered a fracture to his left hand throughout the event and only made his way onto the team halfway through. In the semi-finals at Eden Gardens after his return, the 29-year-old scored a half-century against South Africa and a brilliant century against New Zealand. Australia was under tremendous pressure to win the match by six wickets and secure their sixth ODI World Cup trophy, but Head rose to the occasion once more on the night of the final, hitting 137 runs.
He had strong middle-field help from Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 58 runs. With a partnership of 192 runs, the two eliminated India from the tournament. In terms of bowling, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins both claimed two wickets, while Mitchell Starc claimed three.
With 42 balls remaining, Australia won the match after restricting India to 240 thanks to their outstanding performance. Players like Mohammed Siraj, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli nearly collapsed in the middle of the match, which left the Indian squad devastated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later visited the cricket players’ changing room to offer consolation following their defeat.
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