The grieving is not quite done, the hurt still at the forefront and the emotions running through like a hurricane inside; yet, as they say, life goes on, and Australia must find a way to put their grief aside, maybe even use it as a motivating factor, and hit their normal cricketing levels when they host India in the first Test in Adelaide starting Tuesday.
It has been a rough couple of weeks for everyone involved in cricket following the death of Phil Hughes, and none more so than for his teammates. Michael Clarke was probably the one most affected by the death of his teammate and "little brother" and the skipper will look to lead by example when Australia take to the field for the first time since the tragic passing of Hughes.
"He's a strong leader. He has been an aggressive leader," said Australia's fast bowling supremo Mitchell Johnson about Clarke, who has been passed fit for the first Test after recovering from a hamstring injury.
"We've always had pretty aggressive fields. He has just grown as a captain and as a person. So to have him in the batting order as well, the amount of runs that he's scored, he's really keen to get out there and score some more for Australia.
"He just has something about him when he's out there as captain. Everyone listens. You're sort of watching him and he just goes about the job really well.
"He's a huge boost for us in our lineup. I really hope that he can go out there and score a lot of runs for us. We all know that he's really keen to do that. He's a huge part and we're glad that he's back."
Clarke's counterpart, though, will not make it, with MS Dhoni unable to recover from the thumb injury which had ruled him out of the first Test, which was initially supposed to be played in Brisbane last week.
The captaincy hat will be donned by Virat Kohli for the match, and he can turn himself into an Indian legend if he can lead his team to victory over the Aussies in their own backyard. If the last tour of Australia is anything to go by, however, that looks unlikely, even if India will take heart from their home series against the Aussies, when they absolutely thumped Clarke's men.
All the team news, and injuries and playing combinations aside, this match will mean a lot more. That first ball will be interesting, be that coming from the hand of an Australia fast bowler or one from India.
Will there be a bouncer in this Test match at all? Or will the bowlers naturally refrain from bowling the kind of delivery which ended the life of one of Australia's brightest batting talents?
Will the batsmen be jittery, expecting that ball to rise and feeling like a deer caught in headlights? Or will it be (and this is what everyone will be hoping for) normal? That battle between ball and bat resumed, with no hitches, no worries and plenty of quality.
So many questions, so many things to ponder upon, and all of it just for a Test series. Phil Hughes, who has been made the 13th man by Australia for the match, and his death certainly put everything into perspective, but once the players get out there in the middle in their whites, then the only thing will matter is indeed that battle between bat and ball, and what better battle is there.
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The first Test match is set for a 10.30 am local time (11 am AEDT, 5.30 am IST, 12 am GMT, 7 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD2. Audience in India can also watch the Test match in Adelaide via live streaming online on Starsports.com.
Catch the action live in Australia on Channel 9, while viewers can also live stream all the action on Cricket Australia Live or the Cricket Australia Live App.
Viewers in the UK can watch the match live on Sky Sports 2, while the live streaming option is there in Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. Audience from the USA can catch the game on Willow TV or live stream the action on Willow TV Online. Viewers in the Middle East watch the match on OSN or live online on OSN Play.
Team news: Australia: With Clarke passed fit, Shaun Marsh will sit out the match along with Josh Hazlewood.
India: Kohli did pretty well as captain in the series against Sri Lanka, and the batsman will look to carry that form both with the bat and mind against Australia. Dhoni's absence also means an opportunity for Wriddhiman Saha. However, one key bowler in Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not be available, with the pacer ruled out of the match with an ankle injury.
Expected lineups: Australia (confirmed): Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon.
India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron.
