phil hughes cricket
Phil Hughes of South Australia falls to the ground after being struck in the head by a ball during day one of the Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at Sydney Cricket Ground Getty

One of the world's most respected cricket journalists has been lambasted on Twitter for an article about critically ill Australian batsman Phil Hughes.

Stephen Brenkley, of the Independent, wrote an article about Hughes' technical weaknesses as a cricketer, implying those deficiencies were responsible for his devastating injury.

The piece was headlined "Batsman had one weakness - it has come back to haunt him" and described the difficulty Hughes faced against the sort of short-pitched delivery which struck him in the head in Sydney.

Brenkley wrote: "It was tragically ironic that he [Hughes] should be so catastrophically damaged by a bouncer at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.

"The harsh truth of the matter, as Hughes will have known only too well, is that once a weakness to short-pitched bowling is perceived it is invariably only a couple of boundaries away from being delivered."

Following publication of Brenkley's article, Twitter was indundated with messages decrying the tone and timing of the piece.

Hughes remains in a critical condition in a Sydney hospital. Several members of the cricketing community, including Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff and Sir Ian Botham, have expressed their support for the 27-times-capped left-hander.

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