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It puts a new spin on getting your eye in at the crease.
Phil Jaques’ third Test ton at Kensington Oval against the West Indies today wasn’t just the Australian opener’s first on foreign soil – it was also his first since undergoing eye surgery.
“I had some laser eye (surgery) done before I came over last month,” said Jaques, after his 108 today in a 223-run opening stand with NSW teammate Simon Katich (148 not out).
“I decided to bite the bullet and go for the laser eye.
“The guys at the Eye Institute sorted me out. It was really good.
“I found that high balls were heaps better, batting. I’ve got a lot more time and I don’t have to worry about the contacts.
“It’s a big relief. It’s pretty much changed my life, I think.”
Jaques had taken some time to find his scoring touch since arriving in the Caribbean.
But after struggling in his first three innings, he has since firmly dispensed of suggestions he needs the imposing presence of Matt Hayden at the other end to score consistently in Test cricket.
His century today followed a quality 79 in the second innings of the second Test, with Jaques finishing the three-Test series with a credible 245 runs at 40.83.
While Katich has rarely opened, he and Jaques have batted together on many occasions for NSW. Jaques said that domestic cricket history had played a big part in their partnership today – the second highest opening partnership for Australia in the second innings, and third all time against the West Indies.
“I just think we probably know what makes each other tick I suppose,” Jaques said.
“You can kind of sense what’s going on I suppose, a bit of a sixth sense there, we’ve played a lot of cricket together, and … we try to keep it as simple as we can.
“Simon just talks about batting in tens (runs), and that’s all we really talk about: ‘alright next 10, let’s get to the next 10’, and it just keeps mounting up over time.
“We had quite a few tens today, which was nice and hopefully we have a few more tens in the future.”
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