My mate Hughesy

I live in a little suburban town in Sydney where we call a spade a shovel and outdoor sports are a good way to meet and greet the populace. During my failed cricket career, I was privy to meet the then President of my cricket club, Steve Mullally (No relation to a certain England left-arm quick who couldn’t bat), before he became a talent scout for Cricket NSW.

One day I was fortunate enough to bump into him (He’s extremely busy these days), and out of curiosity asked him whether there were any players I should keep an eye out for.

‘There’s a young bloke that’s playing for Western Suburbs called Philip Hughes. He’s going to go all the way’.

And thus I did, being the good cricket tragic that I am, keep an eye out for him. That was about 2006, when he had just come down from his banana farm in Macksville, and he was already setting the Sydney first grade scene alight.

Three years later he is the most talked about Australian cricketer in the world. His astonishing rise to the baggy green might someday become something of a folk legend.

I watched in the papers for Hughesy, but grade cricket receives limited coverage. He was picked up for some under 19’s Australia teams, but he didn’t really achieve much. Finally in November 2007, his big appetite for runs and enormous potential became too much for the selectors to ignore.

He made his first class debut against Tasmania and made a grinding 51 in a game that Doug Bollinger took 12 wickets. Simon Katich, the captain of NSW and then on the road to the most runs in an Australian first class season, took the young man under his wing.

There were several half centuries that season but the youngster has failed to convert them into the hundreds sorely needed to get his name noticed. But then came the Pura Cup final against the strong Victorian team, containing a young fast bowler that would soon come into the Australian team, Peter Siddle.

Hughesy made only six in the first innings. But in the second, backed by the insatiable Katich, he made 116 to become the youngest man to hit a century in an Australian four day domestic final.

I was there the day Hughesy made that century, full of sharp drives, some lucky edges, and some excellent running between the wickets, and I was one of the loudest to cheer when he made the magic milestone. I’m not sure Hughesy remembers the loud guy with glasses in the stand willing him to succeed.

He made appearances for the academy team during the winter, and then came an important season for the young man the next year. Matthew Hayden was fading fast, Phil Jaques was out with injury, Chris Rogers was getting on and Simon Katich, his mentor, was in the side and whispering in ears.

Hughes took the opportunity to have a devastating season, scoring 891 runs against some of the finest domestic attacks in the world. Only Rogers and the reborn Michael Klinger scored more runs that season.

His finest performance that season was a brilliant double of 93 and 108 on a seaming Bellerive pitch where the next highest NSW score was 42.

Suddenly with Hayden retiring, Australia might have a young talent who would fill a big hole left by the powerful Queenslander.

Some were sceptical of the possibility of sending the young lad into what would be a tough debut series against the recently victorious South Africans. But the selectors decided to watch him play against Tasmania in Newcastle to have a second opinion. Hughes made 151 and 82 not out. He had booked his ticket to South Africa.

What followed was nothing short of incredible. After an embarrassing duck in his maiden test innings, Hughes grafted 75 in the second innings to help Australia to a hard fought win. Then he surprised the cricketing world by knocking off George Headley to become the youngest player to hit twin centuries in a test match with 115 and 160, knocking up his maiden century with a towering six.

He finished as Australia’s highest run scorer for the series and was probably only beaten by Mitchell Johnson and AB De Villiers as men of the series. He has now secured his role as Australia’s test opener for as long as his batting oozes runs, which may not be too hard considering his voracious appetite for runs, one usually associated with the truly great players.

As the Ashes loom, England now have a new player to worry about, one that has flogged three centuries and two fifties in five first class innings for Middlesex. One that has already scored test hundreds against arguably the most ferocious attack in the world.

You will hear a lot more about Philip Hughes before his career is over.