An epidemic of one punch - 10 years on from death of David Hookes

IT was the incident that shocked the state and took the life of Australian cricketing legend David Hookes 10 years ago, a time when one-punch homicides were unheard of.

David Hookes was a leading figure in Australian cricket.

IT was the incident that shocked the state and took the life of an Australian cricketing legend.

David Hookes died on January 19, 2004 - the day after he was punched to the ground by bouncer-turned boxer Zdravko Micevic outside the Beaconsfield Hotel in St Kilda West.

At the time - 10 years ago tomorrow - one-punch homicides were unheard of and the tragedy tore his family, friends and the cricketing community apart.

Infuriated fans even lashed out at the pub where the attack happened, smashing its windows and attacking staff, forcing it to close its doors.

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While a decade has passed, one-punch killings have never been so prevalent.

In the past six years, there have been at least 15 deaths nationally caused by "one punch".

The 48-year-old cricketing great and top broadcaster was out celebrating with Victorian players following a victory in a one-day match against South Australia when a confrontation with a bouncer escalated.

Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann, who considered Hookes his mentor, was there on the night and said the "one-punch" tragedy changed his life.

"I don't think you ever get over it," he said.

Hookes life was taken too soon after he suffered a horrific brain injury when he was knocked unconscious by the bouncer and fell and hit his head on the road.

His estranged wife Robyn, other family members, friends and teammates had to make the heartbreaking decision to switch off his life support hours later.

The aggressive left-handed batsman was a leading figure in Australian cricket.

Born in South Australia, he captained his home state's team before hanging up his gloves at the end of the 1992 season.

Ten years later, his love for the sport saw him return as the coach of the Victorian team.

The mark he made on the cricketing world was shown when about 10,000 people packed the stands in a moving funeral service at Adelaide Oval - the pitch where he scored many of his 12,671 first-class runs and 20 of his 32 centuries.

Micevic, a junior boxing champion, was acquitted of his manslaughter in September 2005.