Slain Vic boy's cricket club won't play

Australia's Test cricketers are wearing black armbands in honour of Luke Batty whose own cricket club will not play this weekend to remember the murdered boy.

Players from the Tyabb Cricket Club will not play this weekend as Luke Batty's teammates remember the exuberant 11-year-old.

The club said none of its teams will play, as a mark of respect for the young player who was beaten and stabbed to death by his father at training at the club's home ground in Melbourne's southeast on Wednesday night.

His father Gregory Anderson, of Chelsea Heights, was shot by police after the attack and died in hospital.

"The club is deeply saddened and shocked by the loss of Luke who was a kind, enthusiastic player with a fantastic personality," the Tyabb Cricket Club said in a statement.

"He will be sadly missed by his teammates and the club as a whole."

The Australian Test team wore black armbands for Luke on Thursday in their match against South Africa in Centurion.

"Cricket Australia and the broader Australian cricket community extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Luke Batty, the Tyabb Cricket Club and the communities of the Mornington Peninsula," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Sheffield Shield teams also wore black armbands in their games around the country on Thursday.

Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide said the tragedy would be felt by the entire sport.

"The cricket community mourns the loss of one of its youngest members," Mr Dodemaide said.

"It is an absolute tragedy to lose a young cricketer in these circumstances."

The Tyabb oval on the Mornington Peninsula has been festooned with flowers as locals struggling to come to terms with the brutal killing pay tribute to the young cricketer.

Wally Rachid, who took a purple bouquet to the oval on Thursday with his 10-year old son Jad, said he didn't know how to explain to his child how something like this could happen.

"He's not doing anything wrong, just playing cricket," Mr Rachid said.

"It's a big loss for the whole town, the whole area."


2 min read

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Updated

Source: AAP


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