Cricket star Phillip Hughes dies after being struck by ball

Australian cricket star Phillip Hughes died Thursday in a Sydney hospital two days after being struck in the head by a ball. He was 25.

Fellow players reacted with disbelief around the world — Hughes had played in dozens of international matches for Australia's national team. The freak accident renewed a debate over safety in Australia's national sport. It is not uncommon for cricket players, who wear protective pads and helmets, to be hit by balls, but the incidents are rarely fatal. --Harold Maass

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.