No matter how hard he tries, Tom Cooper can’t shake the image of the ball that killed his housemate Phillip Hughes.
The South Australian batsman was at the non-striker’s end when Hughes was felled by the fatal bouncer from NSW quick Sean Abbott.
“I keep replaying it,” Cooper told reporters in Adelaide on Monday.
“A few of the New South boys have said that as well, they keep replaying it over and over in their minds.
“That is one of the toughest bits.”
Cooper said his great mate’s death hasn’t hit home – literally, as he’s so accustomed to Hughes being on tour and away from the Adelaide house they shared.
“It’s a little bit weird because he has always been on tour, it is not un-normal for him to not be around,” he said.
“It hasn’t really hit home yet.
“I’m guessing it’s going to come and go in waves because we’re so used to him being away.”
Cooper, among SA’s team travelling for an away Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania starting on Tuesday, helped carry Hughes’ coffin at last Wednesday’s funeral.
“To be honest, I was just hoping I didn’t drop him,” he said with a wry grin.
“It was a great honour to be asked by his mum and dad to be able to do that and it was a great celebration of his life.
“I was more nervous about not dropping him or tripping over.”
Some Redbacks, including Australian one-day paceman Kane Richardson and legspinner Adam Zampa, couldn’t face returning to cricket so soon and won’t play against Tasmania.
And Cooper himself is uncertain if he’s ready after some nervous net sessions.
“There’s a few people that are raring to go, there’s a couple that are still a bit unsure. But I think everyone wants to play for him,” he said.
“And it’s tough because unlike a physical injury there’s no real measure of how you’re going. I guess the next four days will show.
“Personally I had a few net sessions and you’re a little bit hesitant with that going through your mind.
“The hardest thing, I think Mike Hussey said it last week, there’s so much time to think in a game of cricket.
“So when you’re out there on your own and you have got all that time to think, to try and keep it out of your head is the main thing.”
