The cricketing world will come to a stop on Wednesday, as everyone, young and old mourn the loss of the man who lost his life way too early – Phil Hughes.
Phil Hughes funeral will be held in Macksville on Wednesday afternoon Australia time, and all of his current teammates, as well as some of the older players are expected to attend.
Along with Michael Clarke and the entire Australia Test squad, Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and a couple more Indian players will also fly over to New South Wales to pay their respects to Hughes, who lost his life after being hit by a bouncer last Tuesday.
Almost the entire population of Macksville is also expected to attend the funeral of their lost son, with around 5000 people expected to converge from all parts of the world for the ceremony which will be held at the Sports Hall of the Macksville High School, Hughes' former school.
"For the people who aren't able to get into the hall, the family has made arrangements for several overflow areas at the local high school," Hughes' manager James Henderson said on Tuesday. "So everybody should come to celebrate Phillip's life. That's what the family wants.
Everyone in the town of Macksville will be able to pay their respects to Hughes' life with the hearth set to be carried around the town.
"People who are at the high school during the service are asked to line the streets and pay the most fitting farewell to Macksville's favourite," added Henderson said. "Also tomorrow evening, the whole town will stop to celebrate Phillip's life. The family wants to see as many people as it possibly can."
The whole cricketing fraternity and beyond have come together as one following the death of Hughes to such unfortunate circumstances, with Australia skipper Clarke leading the way with some truly touching tributes. Clarke will be one of the pallbearers at the funeral, along with cricketers Aaron Finch and Tom Cooper.
Henderson said Hughes' family have been touched by the outpouring of well wishes and condolences that have been unending over the past week.
"The past week has certainly been a very, very difficult time for the family and for the broader community," Henderson said. "And they've been very moved from the support that's come from here in Australia and obviously all the way around the world, where Phil's untimely and sad passing has affected so many people.
"They're very proud that their son has made such an impression on people who knew him and obviously people now who have come to know him in this unfortunate circumstance ... Hughesy was a real no-fuss guy, and I know he would be looking down on this and wondering what the hell is going on."
Where to Watch Live
Get the Funeral Story HERE
Watch and Read the Full transcript of Clarke's Eulogy HERE
The funeral is scheduled for a 2 pm AEDT (8.30 am IST, 3 am GMT) start with live coverage in Australia provided by Channel 9. Viewers can also listen to the funeral coverage on ABC and Fairfax Radio.
The funeral will also be broadcast live in all major grounds across Australia, including the Sydney Cricket Ground, the venue of the unfortunate accident, Gabba and Southbank in Brisbane, WACA in Perth, Adelaide Oval, Blundstone Arena and Federation Square in Melbourne.
Viewers can also catch the funeral via live streaming online on Cricket Australia's Official Website or Cricket Australia Live App.
Viewers in India can catch the live stream of the funeral on Starsports.com.
Audience can also watch the funeral via live streaming on ESPN.
