The finest speech ever given by an Australian sportsman

Malcolm Knox writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that Michael Clarke's five-and-a-half minute tribute at Phillip Hughes' funeral "might have been the finest speech ever given by an Australian sportsman".

But it is precisely because this has not been a self-conscious act of leadership that Clarke has won the country's admiration and sympathy. In the past, he has been criticised for over-contrivance, acting with too much calculation of effect. What we have seen since November 25 has come straight from his heart, a part of the anatomy that Clarke's critics doubted was as warm as they wanted.

In the Australian, national coach Darren Lehmann shares his thoughts on why Hughes was such a widely-loved person.

You would only be too happy for one of your daughters to marry someone like Phillip. He was respectful, he had all the values we respect in the Australian team. He looked after his mates, he was honest, thoughtful and caring. He was everything you want a young player to be ... I know you are not supposed to have favourites as coaches, but he was certainly one of mine and I think all the staff felt the same. His desire to get back into the side was second to none. He suffered a few setbacks in his career but he kept bouncing back. It was a joy to see the player he developed into.

Ben Doherty writes in the Guardian of the way Hughes never lost sight of what a privilege it was to play for his country.

Australians are curiously proprietorial about their Test cricketers. Part of the price of living out that most sacrosanct of Australian dreams is that it must be shared with each of us ... But Hughes was not the property of the country whose baggy green cap he wore. He belonged here. He belonged to Macksville. He belonged to Greg and Virginia, his parents, who nurtured his gifts, though they'd take him from this town to 'the city' to be tested at only 17. He belonged to sister Megan, who idolised her older brother. He belonged to brother Jason whom he grew up battling in the endless-summer matches of a dozen rural seasons and who read out a letter to Phillip at the service: "I'll take good care of Dad, Mum, Megan, and, of course, your cows. And I promise to get back on the horse and play the game we both love." He belonged to the family farm, where he raised his beloved Angus cattle ... But perhaps above all of these, Phillip Hughes belonged to the middle.