As the first death anniversary of former Australian batsman Phillip Hughes nears, former skipper Ricky Ponting has paid tribute to the late cricketer, saying that he misses his 'infectious personality'.
The 25-year-old Phillip Hughes died on November 27 last year, after suffering a serious head injury while batting in a Sheffield Shield cricket match.
Ponting, who led Australia to World Cup glory in 2003 and 2007, admitted that Hughes was born to make runs and his record was quite remarkable.
The former captain said he still remembers the words uttered by Hughes during his first series: ‘Mate, I'm loving every moment of this’, News.com.au reported.
Hughes had smashed 14 boundaries in his brilliant knock of 112 in his One-Day International debut against Sri Lanka in January 2013.
Reflecting on the performances of Hughes, Ponting said that the opening batsman would have been scoring runs all around the world if he would have been present right now.
Ponting further admired Hughes for showing courage to move to South Australia from NSW in domestic cricket.