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Hughes ready to pounce on Proteas attack

Roar Guru
5th February, 2009
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Lucky Phil Hughes likes a challenge. The 20-year-old is set to be tossed into the cauldron of Test cricket against the world’s most lethal pace attack on the seamer-friendly decks of South Africa later this month.

And the pint-sized left-hander wouldn’t have it any other way than testing himself against the fearsome threesome of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini.

“Watching them on TV in Australia, they all seemed pretty good,” he said.

“I’d love to have a crack at all of them.”

National chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch admitted it would be quite an initiation for him in the first Test starting in Johannesburg on February 26.

Not to mention the renowned hostility of South African crowds.

“I don’t think it could be a harder debut than against that bowling attack away, and that may not be ideal,” Hilditch said.

“But when he comes through this, he’s going to have learned so much, so very quickly.

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“We think he’s up to the job.”

Hughes has already been picking the brains of some of the best about Test cricket.

He had a chat with skipper Ricky Ponting at the Allan Border Medal this week and enjoyed a long conversation with former opener Justin Langer.

Not that Langer’s last memories of South Africa will be much help – he was knocked senseless by an Ntini bouncer in his last bat in the Republic.

But Hughes’ timing has been exceptional and not just with the bat.

His prolific domestic scoring rate has come at the tail-end of Matthew Hayden’s career and Phil Jaques’ back injury also aided his campaign.

Hughes’ elevation has actually left Jaques’ Test career in limbo and shoved one-Test debut Chris Rogers further back down the queue.

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But don’t mention Hughes’ age to the man himself.

“Age, what is age?” he said.

“I see it as a great challenge and I can’t wait!” he said.

Blues skipper Simon Katich agreed with that sentiment.

“I think the thing he brings is class, I know there is going to be a lot made about the fact that he is 20,” Katich said.

“But I think right from the word go when he made his debut last year, you could tell he was a class act.”

Hughes has flown his father Greg down from his home town of Macksville on the NSW north coast to Sydney on Thursday for a few celebratory drinks.

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“Dad’s been awesome, he’s been there through the ups and downs, and especially my mum, my brother and my sister as well,” he said.

“Dad’s travelled all around the country, as a kid growing up all through under-age carnivals he’s been there the whole time.

“He is a banana farmer, so he takes weeks off work to come watch me, to take me around.”

Full name: Phillip Joel Hughes
Age: 20
Born: November 30, 1988, Macksville, New South Wales

Mat Runs HS Ave 100 50
First class 17 1570 198 60.38 5 10
List A 17 507 68 36.21 0 4

*Set for Test debut at 20 years and 88 days, that will make him the 17th youngest in Australian Test history.

Only three players have survived from the last touring party to South Africa in 2006 – Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke.

2006 touring party:
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait.

2009 touring party:
Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Marcus North, Peter Siddle.

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