Pressure does different things to different people - people react in different ways when they’re up against it.

There is a famous old phrase about lumps of coal turning into diamonds under extreme pressure. Well in the space of 24 hours this week the world of sport was illuminated by the brightest-shining diamond lights since Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle hit Top of the Pops.

All of us who fill our lives with a love of sport will have been moved by the tragic death of Phil Hughes, and the outpouring of emotion in the aftermath.

When it comes to elite sport, I’m generally a paid-up member of the ABA Club - Anyone But Australia. David Campese, Merv Hughes, Joe Mangle... they have all served to ensure I can't abide Aussie success of any kind.

However I don’t think I have ever wanted a team to succeed more than the Australians in the opening Test against India in Adelaide this week.

Captain Michael Clarke has carried himself with a dignity, class and genuineness which has won many people over in the two weeks since Hughes’ passing.

From a talented cricketer with a gritty streak which rubs most Englishmen up the wrong way, Clarke has fast become someone I would have round for Christmas Dinner and happily vote for to become Prime Minister of Great Britain.

After making an unbeaten 60 on the opening day of the First Test against India on Tuesday, Clarke retired hurt with a back-problem, nodoubt exacerbated by carrying a nation on his shoulders for the previous fortnight.

For him to return to the crease on Wednesday morning, to complete one of the most emotional centuries the game has ever seen, was one of sport’s great moments. Can you begin to imagine just how much the guy would have longed to reach the milestone to honour his close friend? The strength of character he’s shown has forever changed the way he’ll be viewed the world over.

One of his most moving acts was to provide public support for Sean Abbott, who bowled the fateful ball which ended Hughes’ life.

I thought the chances of the 22-year-old playing again were slim, however he returned to action at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the scene of the catastrophe, on Tuesday, and bowled the 13th over of the day for New South Wales against Queensland.

I simply cannot fathom how he must have been feeling, however Abbott answered the unasked question when he slammed down a bouncer with the fifth ball of his first over. It seemed to have been cathartic as Abbott ended the day with two wickets.

I’m glad it looks as though this horrendous accident ended just the one promising career.

At the other end of the scale we have Steven Gerrard. Trust me, I’m no Liverpool lover, but anyone with a passion for sport has to admire the Liverpool captain.

His superhero, Roy of the Rovers skills might be diminishing, but his sense of occasion certainly isn’t.

To step up, infront of the Kop, in what could very well be his last Champions League game and whip an 81st-minute free-kick into the top-corner in exactly the way that 40,000 people there present, and tens of millions watching around the globe, wanted... needed.

In that precise moment, to master the stage and the nerves and keep your head cool and leg perfectly bent and keep alive the hope... all for the umpteenth time... is the sign of a diamond. It gave me goosebumps.

Liverpool might not have ultimately deserved to go through in Europe, but for all he’s done in the past 15 years, all under pressure, Gerrard certainly did.