JOIN US'We must dig in and get through to the tea...'
Australia captain Michael Clarke urged mourners to "dig in and get through to tea" as he choked back tears in an emotional eulogy for Phillip Hughes at the cricketer's funeral on Wednesday.
A near-constant presence at Hughes's bedside during his two-day fight for life, Clarke sucked back deep breaths at Macksville High School hall during the tribute to his "little brother's" spirit.
"Oh, he would definitely be calling me a sook (crybaby) right now, that's for sure," Clarke began, gasping for air in the stifling hot room packed with 1,000 people. "I don't know about you, but I keep looking for him. I know it is crazy but I expect any minute to take a call from him or to see his face pop around the corner. "Is this what we call the spirit? If so, then his spirit is still with me. And I hope it never leaves."
The 33-year-old skipper spoke of his visit to the SCG wicket on the night of Hughes's death. "I knelt down and touched the grass, I swear he was with me," said Clarke, who had helped usher Hughes into Australia's state ranks and then the national team. "...picking me up off my feet to check if I was okay. Telling me we just needed to dig in and get through to tea. Telling me off for that loose shot I played. Chatting about what movie we might watch that night. And then passing on a useless fact about cows.
"And I could see him swagger back to the other end, grin at the bowler, and call me through for a run with such a booming voice, a bloke in the car park would hear it. Is this what indigenous Australians believe about a person's spirit being connected with the land upon which they walk? If so, I know they are right about the SCG. His spirit has touched it and it will forever be a sacred ground for me."
Clarke said Hughes's death would strengthen the bonds of cricket around the world. "Phillip's spirit, which is now part of our game forever, will act as a custodian of the sport we all love. We must listen to it. We must cherish it. We must learn from it," he added. "We must dig in," Clarke faltered, crying.
"We must dig in and get through to tea. And we must play on. So rest in peace, my little brother. I will see you out in the middle."