Australian batsman Philip Hughes dies from head injury

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died at a Sydney hospital on Thursday from severe head injuries after being struck by a ball two days earlier, team doctor Peter Brukner said in a statement.

Hughes was 25.

Hughes collapsed after being hit behind the left ear on Tuesday after mis-timing a shot to a short-pitch delivery while batting for South Australia against New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match.

He underwent emergency surgery at nearby St. Vincent's Hospital and had remained in a critical condition in an induced coma.

Deaths are rare in cricket, although Hughes is the second player in two years to sustain a fatal blow.

Darryn Randall, who was 32 and a former first-class player in South Africa, was killed after being struck on the side of the head during a Border Cricket Board Premier League match in the Eastern Cape last year.