Family, friends and teammates will gather at Melbourne’s Junction Oval to farewell 17-year-old cricketer Ben Austin, who died after a freak accident during training last month.
Ben, who loved spending time at the historic ground watching cricket, will be honoured there on Thursday.
The teenager was struck in the neck by a ball while batting in the nets in Ferntree Gully on October 30. Teammates rushed to help and paramedics took him to hospital in a critical condition, where he later died.
Mourners have been encouraged to wear cricket jerseys, club colours or scarves to the service.
Family members are expected to deliver the eulogy, and a hearse will complete a lap of the oval in Ben’s honour before a private burial.
Ben’s father, Jayce Austin, previously described the incident as a freak accident that deeply affected not only his son but also the teammate who was bowling at the time.
Ben had been wearing a helmet, and the bowler was using a “wanger”, a plastic device used to sling a ball, a friend told AAP at the time.
Despite the heartbreak, Ben’s parents have urged people to keep playing the sport their son loved.
“This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers – going down to the nets with mates to play cricket,” Austin and Ben’s mother Tracey said.
The teenager’s death led to an outpouring of grief across the cricket community, with players laying down their bats in tribute and professional matches pausing for a minute’s silence.
More than $180,000 has also been raised to support his family.
The tragedy came more than ten years since the 2014 death of Test cricketer Phillip Hughes, who was struck in the neck during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Image: 7NEWS
