Cricket Australia to launch an independent review into death of Phil Hughes

Cricket Australia has confirmed that an independent review into the death of batsman Phil Hughes has been commissioned.

The 25-year-old died in November last year, two days after getting struck on the neck by a short ball during a domestic game in Sydney.

The review, which has been supported by Hughes's family, will look into the "cause and circumstances" of the batsman's passing, with the aim of providing future guidance for tournaments, matches and training sessions.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said: "When this tragedy happened, I said that it was a freak accident, but it was one freak accident too many. Never again do we want to see something like that happen on a cricket field.

"We have a deep responsibility and obligation to look into the events of that awful day to understand everything that occurred and then see what could be done to prevent a similar accident happening in the future.

"This is not an exercise designed to apportion blame on any individual for what took place. It is about making sure that as a sport we are doing everything in our power to prevent an accident of this nature happening again."

Hughes was hit just below the base of the helmet that he was wearing.