Phil Hughes' father says 'ungentlemanly sledging and illegal deliveries' killed his son

Phil Hughes father Greg has called the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) an "unsafe workplace" and claimed that his son was targeted by bowlers who indulged in "ungentlemanly sledging" and "illegal deliveries" on the fateful day when the batsman suffered a fatal blow while batting.

The 25-year-old Test batsman died after he was struck by a bouncer from New South Wales pacer Sean Abbott on 25 November 2014. As Hughes attempted to hook the ball he was struck on the left side of his neck and he collapsed instantly. The southpaw went into coma and passed away two days later, which left the cricketing world in shock.

His family members attended four days of a five-day inquest launched into his death and were not too happy by the findings. Greg reportedly shook his head and whispered "liar" after Cricket Australia's Alex Kontouris denied knowing about the family's concerns on the day the star batsman was delivered the fatal ball.

Another topic that came up was the incident where NSW bowler Doug Bollinger allegedly said, "I'm going to kill you" in the direction of Hughes and his batting partner Tom Cooper during that game. However, all the players involved including Hooper, Brad Haddin, David Warner and Sean Abbott confirmed that they did not hear the sledge with Bollinger denying ever saying the words.

In a letter to the coroner, Greg claimed that the alleged comments were more abusive and intimidating then sledging.

"These slanderous comments and the use of illegal deliveries in my eyes lead to a very unsafe workplace. The umpires did not call them 'no balls' under the Sheffield Shield cricket laws. Those laws are different to the MCC rules. By those balls not getting pulled up, of course this kept the bowlers continuing to target my son in an ungentlemanly way," he wrote.

The inquest ends on 14 October with the coroners findings expected to come out on 4 November.