[6] On 25 November 2014, Hughes was hit in the neck by a bouncer from Sean Abbott, during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, causing a vertebral artery dissection that led to a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

[7] Hughes was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where he underwent surgery, was placed into an induced coma, and was in intensive care in a critical condition.

[9] Hughes[10] was born in Macksville, New South Wales, to father Greg, a banana farmer, and Italian mother, Virginia.

[16] In a comfortable victory for New South Wales, Hughes opened the batting and got his career off to a solid start, scoring a fluent 51 and taking 2 catches.

[18] The highlight of Hughes's excellent season came in New South Wales' Pura Cup final victory over Victoria.

[19] Hughes was rewarded for his achievements by winning the New South Wales Rising Star Award and earning an upgrade to a full state contract for the 2008–09 season.

[20][21] Hughes was signed by Middlesex on a short-term contract, as cover for Murali Kartik, for the beginning of the 2009 English cricket season.

"[27]Hughes hit consecutive hundreds at the end of the 2010/11 season to earn the praise of Australian chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch.

[30] After New South Wales' wicket-keeper Brad Haddin was struck in the head by a top edge, Hughes took on the keeping duties for nine overs.

[31] After consistently making runs at domestic level, Hughes was called up to replace Matthew Hayden on Australia's tour of South Africa in February and March 2009.

He was dropped from the team for the third Edgbaston Test in favour of Shane Watson, who opened the batting in his place and provided the Australians with an extra bowling option.

[35][36] Upon his return from South Africa, the Phillip Hughes Award, to be given annually to a promising young cricketer from the local district, was announced in his home town of Macksville.

He was a regular in the Australian team for the following year, playing in the last three Ashes tests, tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa and then a home series against New Zealand, but his spot came under pressure due to his inconsistency during that time.

[41] In a stint for Worcestershire in the English County Cricket competition, Hughes made adjustments to his much maligned technique resulting in a more expansive range of strokes with more emphasis on legside play.

These returns earned Hughes a recall to the Australian Test team to face Sri Lanka in Hobart following the retirement of Ricky Ponting in December 2012.

Immediately he made an impact, scoring a solid 86 in the first Test match at Hobart, with a new-found confidence and tighter technique that had eluded him 12 months prior.

[45] He opened the innings with Aaron Finch at Melbourne, and he added a 140-run third-wicket partnership with captain George Bailey before being dismissed by Lasith Malinga.

Following his successful summer season in Australia in 2012/2013, Hughes was selected to play in the Test series in India, but he struggled, scoring 147 runs in eight innings and averaging only 18.37.

He collapsed before receiving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and was subsequently taken to St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, where he underwent surgery and was placed into an induced coma.

However, an independent review released by Cricket Australia states that "The now mandated British Standard helmet would have offered no protection where he was struck.

[69] The final result of the investigation was that the death of Hughes was a tragic accident arising from a minuscule misjudgement from the batsman and no players or umpires were at fault.

Play on the second day of the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates was suspended, due to its scheduled start occurring not long after Hughes's death.

The service was attended by around one thousand people, including many national and sporting dignitaries as well as the then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

[77] During the first Test, David Warner and Steve Smith both raised their bats in commemoration of Phillip Hughes when they passed 63 not out, and when Australia reached 408 runs, the match temporarily stopped as the crowd recognised the occasion.

In the first home Ashes series since Hughes's passing, Australia decided to extend play to the 5th day on the First Ashes Test in 2017, which coincided with the third anniversary of his passing, with David Warner looking skyward as he scored past 63*; the Barmy Army sang a light-hearted parody as a tribute to Hughes to the tune of "Winter Wonderland".

[87] A road bridge on the Pacific Highway over the Nambucca River near his rural NSW hometown of Macksville has been named after Hughes.