The seriousness of his plight has shocked the cricket world. Test captain Michael Clarke and NSW captain Brad Haddin were among well wishers to visit the hospital again on Wednesday, joining Hughes's family as well wishes and support flowed in from the international cricket community.
SA batsman Hughes suffered the head injury when he mistimed a hook shot and was struck by a bouncer from young NSW paceman Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match.
There has also been widespread support and sympathy expressed toward 22-year-old Abbott, who has received counselling along with the other NSW and SA players.
The SA-NSW match was abandoned on Tuesday following the accident, and Cricket Australia called off the other two Shield games in Brisbane and Melbourne on Wednesday after consulting players and the Australian Cricketers' Association.
"Given how players across the country are feeling right now, it's just not the day to be playing cricket and we understand that," CA general manager of team performance Pat Howard said.
Cricket NSW assembled Blues players and staff at their Moore Park headquarters on Wednesday morning to ensure they got adequate support as they came to grips with the predicament of Hughes, a former Blues player who has many mates on their team including Haddin and David Warner.
"(The players) are doing it tough obviously," Cricket NSW CEO Andrew Jones told Triple M radio. "They were pretty shaken up yesterday; it's not what you expect to happen in a game of cricket.
"Phil was in a pretty bad way when it happened and being opponents and former teammates and mates in many cases, they were the first responders ... the first guys on the scene of what was a horrible accident."
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he had received numerous messages of support, including from the New Zealand team touring the United Arab Emirates.
In Colombo, England captain Alastair Cook said he was in shock and added that the thoughts and prayers of his whole team were with Hughes and his family.
Sutherland said the highest level of support was being offered to Abbott, who cradled the injured batsman after he crashed to the ground.
"It says a lot about Sean doesn't it?" Sutherland said. "Sean will have all the support he needs around him.
"I'm sure his teammates and everyone don't feel in any way ill of him for what happened. It's a freak, freak incident."
The popular Hughes was wearing a helmet when he was struck but manufacturer Masuri said he was not wearing their most up-to-date model.
"From the footage and pictures currently available to Masuri, it appears that Phil Hughes was struck by the ball to the rear of the grille and below the back of the shell," the company said. "This is a vulnerable area of the head and neck that helmets cannot fully protect, while enabling batsmen to have full and proper movement."
With Australian selector Mark Waugh looking on in the SCG stands, Hughes had put together a composed 63 off 161 balls as he attempted to earn a Test recall for next week's series opener against India.
He had been considered a leading contender to replace Clarke, who is struggling to recover from a hamstring injury. Shaun Marsh is now the frontrunner to take Clarke's spot in the Test lineup.
-AAP
