Melbourne teen cricket player dies after being struck in the neck by ball in Ferntree Gully

Here we go guys. This is how Ben Austin always started. The loudest kid on the pitch, the 17-year-old Gully boy and all-rounder shouted the words before the match, an enduring chant he used to boost the morale of his teammates.

But today the Wally Tew Reserve at Ferntree Gully in Melbourne’s east east is quiet. Once a place of teamwork and training, the cricket nets have now become a place of mourning and confusion. The nets are covered with flowers, cards, cricket jerseys and bats. A young cricketer left a bottle of Gatorade and a packet of sweets. Another pack of frosted strawberry donuts.

Those who knew and loved him best are struggling to piece together those final, tragic moments: casual pranks and practices, and then the ball that changed everything.

Facing a shot from a sidearm “wanger”, a hand-held ball-throwing device, Ben was struck by a ball in the neck. He was wearing a helmet but no neck guard and the accident was likened to the ball that claimed the life of Australian batsman Phil Hughes a decade ago.

What they do know is that Ben was treated at the scene by members of Ferntree Gully Cricket Club followed by specialist paramedics. There was a defibrillator on site. Ben was rushed to Monash Medical Center in Clayton in a critical condition and was placed on life support. He died Thursday morning.

His parents, Jace and Tracey Austin, said their son spread joy and people were drawn to his light.

“To Tracey and me, Ben was a beloved son, a beloved brother to Cooper and Zach, and a shining light in the lives of our family and friends,” they said in a statement.

“This tragedy took Ben from us, but we take some comfort in the fact that he was doing something he did for many summers: going to the nets to play cricket with his friends. He loved cricket and it was one of the joys of his life.”

Speaking just hours after their son’s death on Thursday, the family were kind enough to pay tribute to Ben’s teammate who was bowling in the nets. They know it’s a different kind of fear for him. “This accident affected two young men and our thoughts are with him and his family,” the statement said.

The club is also shaken. “You’ll always be a Gully boy, Benny,” club president Lee Thompson said as he held the cap Ben won in his first game of the 2025 season. A visibly emotional Thompson said the club had been keeping watch for Ben in the net since he was hospitalized on Tuesday night. “As a club we are absolutely devastated,” he said.

Teammate Liam Vertigan remembered him as “the loudest kid on the field” with a heart of gold. “Before the game, even on live broadcasts, you would hear him call out, ‘here we go, guys.’ Now we will notice the silence.”

Ben’s family is asking the community to “put their cricket bats forward for Benny,” Thompson said. He was scheduled to play a match next Tuesday.

Ben was a dedicated athlete; He was skilled with bat, ball and Sherrin. He played over 100 matches for the Waverley Park Hawks junior football club and finished second in this season’s club best and fairest.

“He was definitely going somewhere,” Vertigan said. “He was always telling me what he was up to, both in football and football. [cricket]. ”

Champion Victoria wicketkeeper Darren Berry, who also coaches Ben as director of cricket at the Rowville Sports Academy, described him as a “rising talented cricketer” and a “lovely, respectful young man”.

Berry was struck by tragedy on more than one occasion; He was mourning the deaths of former manager David Hookes, his former team-mates and close friends Shane Warne and Dean Jones, as well as his former protégé Phillip Hughes. Now Ben is tasked with guiding the students at his school through the difficult days ahead.

“[Ben] Berry said: “He was an enthusiastic, extremely fit young man who demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities.”

The ball that changed everything

A vanger is used to bowl cricket balls without straining the bowler’s shoulder. Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins said the ball was accidentally bowled before it bounced onto the pitch.

The promising youngster, a Rowville Sports Academy pupil, was not listed to play in Tuesday’s T20 cricket match against Eildon Park but was training while his club mates warmed up.

He was wearing a helmet at the time, but the helmet did not have a temple guard, providing a layer of protection for his neck.

The game was abandoned after Ben got injured.

Cricket Victoria plans to pay tribute to Ben on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at Junction Oval on Friday.

Cricket Australia will also pay tribute during the T20 match between Australia and India at the MCG on Friday night.

Cricket Victoria’s Cummins said he had a son the same age and sympathized with the family.

“[Ben] Not only did he play at Ferntree Gully, he played at Mulgrave, he played at Mt Waverley. He was basically using every waking hour to play cricket,” Cummins said.

“That’s what makes this so difficult; it’s such a bright light dimmed.”

He likened Ben’s death to that of Hughes, who died with a ball stuck in his neck during a Sheffield Shield match in 2014.

A coroner’s report into Hughes’ death recommended trunk protectors be mandatory, and in 2023 Cricket Australia made this an official guideline for players representing Australia.

Asked if Ben’s death meant stump guards should become mandatory for cricketers at all levels, Cummins said the focus should be on supporting the Austin family.

“It’s often a response to tragedy that people feel like they need to do something right away,” Cummins said. “There’s going to be a time to do something. We just need to make sure we’re focusing on the people who are directly impacted in that moment.”

Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird said: “Obviously we’ve got things to learn from this but we’re concerned about the family at the moment and trying to support them in every way we can.”

Ben was also a much-loved footballer at Waverley Park Hawks junior football club, where he started playing for the under-eights team.

“He was a really kind and incredibly respectful man,” club president Mick Mastromanno said.

“I coached him for a few years and he was the kind of kid who would come up to you at the end of every practice and shake your hand and thank you for your efforts. And…same after games.”

“He was a really nice kid, very quiet and respectful.”

Late Thursday the nets at Wally Tew Reserve became a monument. Schoolmates arrived in their uniforms, hugged each other, and sat on the grass to watch the tribute garden grow.

A bat’s face is covered with handwritten messages. One reads: “Forever 14 won’t be out” – an echo of the tragic accident that claimed the life of one of the elders ten years ago.

This marks the end of the Gully star and Ben Austin’s latest innings.

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