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By Harvey Burgess

A coroner’s inquest has ruled that no individual was responsible for the death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes in November 2014.

Hughes died of a brain haemorrhage just two days after being struck on the back of the head in a first-class match for South Australia in Sydney.

Sean Abbott, who bowled the ball that fatally struck Hughes, did not act with malicious intent, according to the inquest, while the coroner, Michael Barnes, also ruled that no rules had been broken regarding short-pitched deliveries.

20 of the 23 bouncers delivered that day had been bowled to Hughes, who attempted to play the fatal delivery instead of ducking it.

The coroner added: “A minuscule misjudgement or a slight error of execution caused him to miss the ball which crashed into his neck with fatal consequences.”

Meanwhile, Mr Barnes ruled that any sledging that may have taken place did not contribute to the batsman’s death.

There had been numerous rumours that one of the New South Wales bowlers had said to Hughes: “I’m going to kill you.”

Three NSW players, namely Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin and David Warner, vehemently denied during the inquest that any unsavoury or unsportsmanlike behaviour had taken place, while Tom Cooper, Hughes’ batting partner at the crease, backed up his compatriots’ claims.

“Hopefully the focus on this unsavoury aspect of the incident may cause those who claim to love the game to reflect whether the practice of sledging is worthy of its participants,” Mr Barnes added.

Finally, Mr Barnes added that none of the safety procedures that have been installed since Hughes’ death would have been sufficient to save the batsman’s life.

New helmets have been produced with extra protection at the rear, where Hughes was fatally struck. The manufacturer Masuri has created a prototype that includes a ‘stemguard,’ an additional safety component that clips onto the back of the helmet.