Cooper driven to tears at Hughes inquest

South Australia batsman Tom Cooper was subjected to stringent questioning at the inquest into the death of his team-mate and friend Phillip Hughes, and left the witness stand in tears.
The inquest, being held at the New South Wales coroner’s court, is to determine what could have been done to prevent Hughes’ death two years ago, and how to go about preventing another such incident.
But Cooper, who was Hughes’ batting partner when he was struck on the neck by a bouncer, was peppered with questions about the opposition’s bowling tactics, and denied the short bowling was ‘excessive’.
Day one of the inquest had heard from the likes of Brad Haddin and Doug Bollinger, who were playing for the Blues, and questioning also focused on short-pitched bowling.
Cooper said that Hughes was not the target of overly vicious bouncers at all, and that the batsman had handled it all well until the fatal Sean Abbott delivery.
The Holland batsman said: “Yes, he was on top and they were trying to stop him from scoring. He handled it with relative ease. There were no worries.
“I guess he was targeted, but I wouldn’t say it was in an ungentlemanly way. The tactic was used against him but it wasn’t for any other reason than to stop the run rate.”
Australia batsman David Warner, speaking via video link from Cape Town, also gave evidence as he was on the NSW team, and he said his close friend had little trouble with the bowling until that one delivery.
Warner said: “It looked like he was in control of everything he was doing. He was playing quite comfortably.”
Latest
-
News
Jake Libby earns draw as Somerset, Hampshire and Gloucestershire open with wins
Worcestershire opener Libby made the second-longest Championship innings ever and was on the field for every ball of the match.
-
News
Jofra Archer to find out whether he could feature in IPL next week
Archer has already been ruled out of the initial stages of the tournament after undergoing surgery to remove glass from his finger last month.
-
News
Stuart Broad would support social media boycott as racist abuse continues online
Some football teams and players have taken a break from social media.
-
News
Snow hits Glamorgan hopes as Rory Burns and Ben Foakes shine for Surrey
Burns made 74 and England team-mate Foakes an unbeaten 81 for Surrey against Gloucestershire at Bristol.
-
News
ICC Player of the Month nominations for March announced
Winners of the player of the month awards will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels.
-
News
Billy Root overshadows brother Joe as England captain suffers against Glamorgan
The visitors closed the second day with the upper hand at Headingley.
-
News
Sadiq Khan hoping to attract future IPL matches to London
London has staged NFL, MLB and NBA matches in London in the past and the London Mayor hopes IPL matches can also be staged in the capital.
-
News
Dan Lawrence shows early touch as Essex start strongly in Championship
There were big hundreds for Sam Robson, Tom Haines and James Vince.
-
News
Sachin Tendulkar thanks medical staff after returning home from hospital
Tendulkar was admitted to hospital last week after revealing he had tested positive for Covid-19 and had been in quarantine at home.
-
News
New Zealand name squad for their Test tour of England
New Zealand have named a 20-player squad for their tour of England, with three uncapped prospects in the group.