The cricketing community has rallied behind NSW all-rounder Sean Abbott, whose bouncer felled Phil Hughes and left the batsman in an induced coma after being rushed to St Vincent's Hospital with critical head injuries.
Barely a month after making his Twenty20 and one-day international debuts for Australia, Abbott was left distraught when Hughes staggered after being hit by a short delivery and later collapsed to the ground.
Abbott, a former teammate of Hughes' with the Blues, was one of the first NSW players to attend to the South Australian opener.
And a number of the cricketing fraternity immediately took to social media to support the 22-year-old, at the top of his game after a breakout season for NSW in 2013-14.
Tweeted former international Dean Jones: "Feeling for Phil Hughes after being hit. He is not in a good way! Stay strong @seanabbot77 ... Not your fault young man"
Adam Gilchrist also pledged his support for the emerging talent.
"And stay strong Sean Abbott," he tweeted.
Added Nathan Bracken: "Thoughts are with Sean Abbott as well."
Abbott made his one-day debut for NSW as an 18-year-old back in 2010, coincidentally the same age as Hughes when he broke into the NSW Shield side three years earlier.
Abbott, who enjoys the quirky birthday of February 29 after being born in a leap year, later went on to make his first-class debut exactly a year later in the four-day side.
He was long touted as a future representative player from a young age, featuring in NSW's under-17s and under-19s squads before earning a call-up to the Australian under-19s side.
The Sydney University product, who made his name at Parramatta, came on the radar of Australian selectors after winning the Steve Waugh Medal as NSW's best player last season.
He topped the wicket tally (16) for the Ryobi Cup competition and claimed 27 scalps during the Sheffield Shield season.
He featured in one Twenty20 international and two days later his first full one-day international in Australia's recent series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
