Young cricketer Ben Austin’s death ruled a tragic accident

Young cricketer Ben Austin died by “misadventure”, a coroner investigating the 17-year-old’s death has said.

Just weeks from the first anniversary of Ben’s death, his parents, Jace and Tracey Austin, attended the Coroners Court of Victoria on Friday for a brief directions hearing.

Coroner Simon McGregor revealed he would not be making any adverse findings or recommendations about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

He said no individual or organisation had contributed to Ben’s death, and it was “a misadventure by well-meaning young people using proper equipment, using equipment that was proper, using it properly, in a caring well-run club”.

Ben died in hospital after being hit in the neck by a ball, thrown by a teammate using a side arm ball-throwing device, while training in the nets in Ferntree Gully, in Melbourne’s south-east, before a scheduled T20 game on October 28 last year.

On Friday morning, Ben’s parents both cried silently, holding hands, as the counsel assisting the coroner read a summary of the events of that day, including that Ben’s teammate initially thought he was “mucking around” before realising it was serious and calling over the senior coach, who began performing CPR.

Paramedics arrived and took the teenager to Monash Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination concluded Ben had likely died from an intracranial haemorrhage, or brain bleed, resulting from a tear to a major neck artery caused by traumatic injury.

McGregor said the way Ben had died was “a very rare but not unknown occurrence”, citing two or three other similar incidents in the past 12 years, but he felt confident Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia were reviewing a range of measures to make the game of cricket safer, including new technologies and helmet design.

“For cricket administrators and clubs, though, I do want to share and give you comfort that there will be no recommendations or comments made here about rule changes … and the cricket season that’s upon us can continue in the normal way.”

Outside court, Jace and Tracey Austin, who was wearing a necklace with Ben’s name on it, said they were comforted to learn there would be no changes made to the game their son loved.

“From what we’ve heard, it was exactly what we wanted,” Jace Austin said. “In no way did we want to change this great game. It was a freak accident.”

While the coroner said he was only a couple of weeks away from finishing his investigation, he offered to leave some space for Ben’s family to observe the looming anniversary of his death, which they accepted. Final findings are expected before Christmas.

“Every day’s tough. But again … when this comes to an end, this will be Benny’s full stop, so you sort of want it to drag out,” Jace said. “We had his 18th last week, and now we’ve got his anniversary coming up. So, but every day’s brutal. I’ll be honest, every day’s brutal.

“He was just a shy little 17-year-old boy … who just wanted to go about his life … I still can’t believe how many times he’s been on the front page of the news.

“It’s been quite amazing to be honest … We were worried that he’s going to be forgotten, but he’s going to outlive us all.”

Reviews are still in train across Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia into broader governance and the way potential safety risks are communicated, which the coroner said was one area he felt needed work, identifying some confusion among clubs as to whose responsibility it was to enforce safety-related rule changes.

McGregor commended the fact that some clubs had taken proactive action, with Laurimar Cricket Club bringing in neck guards for all players and Ferntree Gully Cricket Club banning the use of sidearm ball-throwers. But he said other clubs seemed to be waiting to be told, despite Cricket Australia saying it could only make strong recommendations, and had, but could not force lower leagues to implement changes.

Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins told reporters outside court that cricket was a safe sport, but that it was important to investigate all serious incidents thoroughly.

He said the cricket community was still mourning the teenager’s death.

“We will continue to support [his family] and ensure that Ben is never forgotten,” he said.

Ben’s death triggered an outpouring of grief across the local, domestic and international cricket communities.

The MCG crowd observed a moment of silence in tribute to Ben ahead of a Twenty20 international between Australia and India the day after his death.

At Junction Oval, Victorian and Tasmanian cricketers led tributes during a Sheffield Shield match, lining the field with their bats and caps.

The Austin family have set up a charity – the Ben Austin Legacy – to help other families going through loss.

His father said it had helped him and Tracey stay united in grief.

“School-age loss causes a lot of grief on a marriage. It doubles the divorce rate, and I get it … Everyone grieves their own way, but now, I think, working on Benny’s gala, Benny’s legacy, we’ve really come together and … we’ve also got two other boys, who are 16 and 13, and that they need us as much as anyone.”

Jace Austin said both boys were still playing cricket, and he was still watching them play whenever he could.

“Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday still. I take my dog Marley down … I just need to. It helps me so much,” he said.

“Benny would be overwhelmed by all this stuff to be honest, all this hype. He was just a bit more like his mum, a little bit more reserved … He was the perfect boy … He would have just wanted the game to go on … and I hope that we get the message out of here. Keep playing cricket because it’s a great game.”

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