Ben Austin who was a 17 year old Australian cricketer died after a practice session at the Ferntree gully Cricket club, which was located in Melbourne. He was hit on the neck by a ball thrown by a wanger, a ball thrown instrument in the hands of a person that was used to train nets, even though he wore a helmet.
Ben Austin’s Death, How Did The Tragic Accident Happen?
The accident happened because the ball struck his part of the neck that was not covered with protective equipment due to the lack of a neck guard. There were medical responders and emergency services, which came instantly, he was taken to the hospital and he was on life support but he could not survive. The official announcement of the club shows that the death has impacted seriously the local cricketing community. He saw irony in the cruelty of the tragedy: Ben was just doing something that he loved, heading to the nets with his mates to another summer of cricket.
Vale Ben Austin.
Cricket Australia is devastated at the passing of 17-year-old Melbourne cricketer Ben Austin following an accident while batting in the nets on Tuesday night. pic.twitter.com/zBifuqrrRG
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) October 30, 2025
The accident once again shows the latent dangers in the cricket nets and training and in situations under which the safety nets lack complete or essential safety gear like neck guards. The vulnerable point whereby the ball hit was not much covered by the helmet of the wearer. To avoid such heartbreaking results in future, the cricket authorities and clubs can now revisit the standards of protective gear and net practice equipment.
