Much focus was on Phillip Hughes ahead of the fourth Test beginning here on Tuesday. Both captains, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, spoke about the Test being played here in the aftermath of Hughes’s tragic end at the SCG.
Smith said, “We’ve just got to make sure we’re very respectful to the Hughes family that are going to be down here for this Test match. That’s very important to us and it’s very important to them.”
The Australia captain added, “It’s going to be another emotional Test match and hopefully we can do the Hughes family proud by playing well this week.”
Smith was happy that a plaque and a bust of Hughes were now at the entrance of the Members Pavilion.
“It’s a good thing. Hughesy was one of us, he was one of our good mates. Particularly this week, it’s going to be great to be able to walk past that and see the little fella there and give us a bit of inspiration as we’re going out on the field.”
Kohli said: “I can’t really imagine what the family must feel like coming to this Test. I know it’s going to be pretty hard for them.
“It’s going to be a strange feeling stepping onto the field knowing that that incident happened on this very ground. As the game goes, hopefully we don’t think about it and get on with this sport which the two teams have done really well in this series to overcome what happened before the start of the series.”
