17-year-old Melbourne cricketer dies after neck injury in training

A 17-year-old Melbourne cricketer, Ben Austin of the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club, has died after suffering catastrophic neck injuries during a training session at Wally Tew Reserve in Ferntree Gully on Tuesday afternoon, the club said. Austin was taken to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton in a critical condition before being placed on life support and later died on Thursday, October 29, 2025, the club announced in a social media statement.

Club officials and family members said Austin was batting in the nets when he was struck in the neck by a ball while teammates were warming up for a scheduled match against Eildon Park. Accounts differ on how the ball was delivered. Some reports say it was a throwdown delivered by a wanger, a handheld ball launcher commonly used in net sessions, while other accounts say he was facing a teammate. He was wearing a helmet at the time, the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club said. Specialist paramedics treated him at the ground before he was transported to hospital. The scheduled match was abandoned after the injury.

The club described Austin as a popular player whose death would be keenly felt across the local cricket community. In its statement the club...