On Thursday morning, the world of cricket was left shocked by the passing of Phil Hughes in a Sydney hospital at the age of 25.
It would be a matter of seconds before the tributes started to pour in for a player respected both on and off the pitch for his exciting, attacking approach to the game.
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Hughes was everything a modern-day cricketer should be. Confident, intelligent, and with the ability to back up any claims made by spectators who had seen one of the most talented prospects in a generation burst onto the scene as a teenager.
At 18 years and 355 days, Hughes made his first-class debut in November 2007 to become the youngest New South Wales debutant since Michael Clarke, a player with whom he would go on to bat at the highest level just a few years later.
It all seemed to be too easy for Hughes, who quickly became a key player for New South Wales before receiving a call-up to the Australia squad in early 2009.
After being dismissed for a duck in his first Test innings by Dale Steyn, some may have expected a youngster to lose his way, or quickly fade into obscurity. Obscurity was never an option for Hughes. Even at his toughest times, his confidence levels were to be admired.
Later in the same Test match, Hughes would prove to his teammates and the South Africans that he was ready for international cricket by hitting a fluent 75, but there was more to come.
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It was in the second Test match where Hughes would record a stunning achievement in Durban. A maiden Test hundred in the first innings would have been enough for some heads to turn, but matching that effort in the second innings had everyone in the cricket world talking.
Setting a new world record should have been just the start for the batsman, but Australian fans and supporters of cricket everywhere have been robbed of the opportunity to see what Hughes could have eventually achieved.
After that Test match in Durban, Hughes struggled to recapture the same form in Test cricket, but it is testament to his qualities that he was never excluded from the discussion by Cricket Australia. Right up until he suffered the injury, many were calling for Hughes to be brought back into the squad.
Supporters will remember the shots, his teammates will remember much, much more. Clarke, Shane Warne and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott were just some of the people who were eager to use the word humble when paying tribute to Hughes. Ready for any challenge on the field, but a willing worker behind the scenes.
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On those days when he watched from home as Australia toured the world without him, he would have been plotting his return. Australia's players would have been expecting their talented teammate to be back. Just as was the case at the crease, Hughes would never go into his shell.
If you were lucky enough to see Hughes step away to the leg-side and launch a powerless bowler's delivery into the stands, you learned much more about the modern game in that second than you could have done by reading any textbook.
At the age of 25, he was ready for his next challenge. Just as he had done in the past, Hughes was prepared to prove his critics wrong by taking his unique approach back to the international game.
A fighter until his final swing of the willow, the sport will miss his ability to light up grounds around the world with the bat in hand.
Callum Mulvihill
