By NEIL D’COSTA

PHILLIP brought great joy to life and made my life special, he was special and I will miss him. He grew up in the small town of Macksville, the son of banana farmers, and shifted to Sydney where I met him. In fact, he planned to go back to cattle breeding after his cricket career.

He was so passionate about the game and I always believed, and have said so in public, that he was a 10,000-plus Test batsman.

It’s the man I shall miss the most. He always had a smile on his face and was ready for any challenge. I remember when he had some trouble in England against Flintoff and Co, I was a tad concerned and called him. All he said was, “At least I am fresh for the next game.”

He was very serious about his game. Immediately after that tour, when he came to India — I was head coach of Vidarbha cricket academy — he sought the help of Sachin Tendulkar and had a long chat about the challenges of facing fast bowling. Sachin gave Phillip his time, and Phillip cherished that. He was, I dare say, an Aussie version of Sachin — humble and small in stature, but full of life and love.

Former India pacer Subroto Baneerjee, who has coached in Australia, was like an elder brother to Phillip. Because of him, Sachin, the ‘Master’, had also become one.

Phillip had a great relationship with India. And believe me, it wasn’t fake, it wasn’t IPL-driven. It was real. He loved India for its love of life and cricket. He didn’t see the world’s dark side; he only saw joy and happiness.

I will miss the times Phil and I had, but the memories will last. We don’t know what to do right now, his family’s pain is too great for us all, and as an Indian at heart, I am lost. God will light our path, but right now it’s very dark.

(The writer was Phillip Hughes’s childhood coach and later became his life coach. He was also the head coach of Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Residential Academy from 2009 to 2011. He is currently based in Sydney.)