Australia captain Michael Clarke urged mourners to "dig in and get through to tea" as he choked back tears in an emotional eulogy for Phillip Hughes at the cricketer's funeral.
A near-constant presence at Hughes's bedside during his two-day fight for life, Clarke sucked back deep breaths at Macksville High School hall in New South Wales during the tribute to his "little brother's" spirit.
"Oh, he would definitely be calling me a sook (crybaby) right now, that's for sure," Clarke began, gasping for air in the stifling hot room packed with 1,000 people.
"I don't know about you, but I keep looking for him. I know it is crazy but I expect any minute to take a call from him or to see his face pop around the corner.
"Is this what we call the spirit? If so, then his spirit is still with me. And I hope it never leaves."
Hughes died last Thursday at the age of 25, two days after being rushed to hospital for emergency surgery, having been struck by a rising delivery during a state match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Clarke joined fellow cricketers and Hughes's father and brother among the pallbearers in delivering the coffin to the hearse before it set off in procession through the batsman’s hometown of Macksville.
Fr Michael Alcock welcomed the mourners to the small rural community halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.
Mostly locals packed inside the school hall with thousands more watching on screens outside.
Also in attendance were Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Australian cricket greats such as Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath and the Waugh brothers.
Richard Hadlee, Brian Lara and India captain Virat Kohli represented the wider world.
The 33-year-old skipper spoke of his visit to the SCG wicket on the night of Hughes's death.
"I knelt down and touched the grass, I swear he was with me," said Clarke, who had helped usher Hughes into Australia's state ranks and then the national team.
"Picking me up off my feet to check if I was okay. Telling me we just needed to dig in and get through to tea.
"Telling me off for that loose shot I played. Chatting about what movie we might watch that night. And then passing on a useless fact about cows.
"And I could see him swagger back to the other end, grin at the bowler, and call me through for a run with such a booming voice, a bloke in the car park would hear it.
"Is this what indigenous Australians believe about a person's spirit being connected with the land upon which they walk? If so, I know they are right about the SCG. His spirit has touched it and it will forever be a sacred ground for me."
Clarke said Hughes's death would strengthen the bonds of cricket around the world.
"Phillip's spirit, which is now part of our game forever, will act as a custodian of the sport we all love. We must listen to it. We must cherish it. We must learn from it," he added.
"We must dig in," Clarke faltered, crying. "We must dig in and get through to tea. And we must play on. So rest in peace, my little brother. I will see you out in the middle."
While Clarke was speaking at the funeral in of Macksville, thousands of fans braved the heat at the SCG, the Adelaide Oval, the Gabba in Brisbane and the WACA in Perth to express their grief.
Despite blanket live coverage of the funeral on local television and international news networks, many of those present at Australia's iconic cricket venues had travelled hundreds of kilometres to remember Hughes.
At the SCG, the many cricket bats and floral tributes that had been laid outside the gates since Hughes died last Thursday had been brought into the ground and arranged on the wicket.
There was also an installation of 63 bats across the field, each one with the description of a milestone from the batsman's career, in a reference to the tally, 63 not out, that was on the SCG scoreboard when he was injured.
In a country where sportsmen and women are idolised, Hughes had already secured his hero status with his exploits in 26 tests for the national team.
It was, though, his fighting attitude - encapsulated by his desire to reclaim his spot in the Australia test team after being dropped several times - that meant he was remembered so fondly by many of the hundreds of mourners at the SCG.
"A lot of people when they go down give it away but he just kept on coming back. I just loved his style, his ability to bat was unbelievable," said Simon Southwell, who travelled with his family from Canberra to Sydney.
Some 3,000 fans also turned out at the Adelaide Oval, where Hughes had played his state cricket with South Australia since moving from New South Wales two years ago.
Tributes have flooded in from around the world over the last week, making the mourning a truly international affair.
"Heart-rending funeral in Australia. Phil Hughes, we will miss you. Your game & exuberance won you fans all over! RIP," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
