Phillip Hughes

Phillip Joel Hughes Biography

Phillip Hughes was a former Australian cricketer, born on 30th November 1988, in New South Wales, Australia. The wicket-keeper was a left-handed batsman.

Hughes passed away in a tragic way on 27th November 2014 after a Sean Abbott bouncer stuck on his back head during a Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales.

The youngest player (20 years 96 days) to hit two tons in both innings of the test remains unbeaten on 63 forever.

Background

In April 2007, Hughes was included in the Australia Under-19 squad for the ODI series against Pakistan, thanks to his consistency at U-17 and U-19 level for New South Wales. He acquired 49 runs, facing a world-class Sri Lanka for Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in a tour game in October 2007.

A month later, he became the second youngest to represent New South Wales in Shield and notched 51 in the first-class debut against Tasmania. His impressive performance in the 1998 U-19 World Cup and his stack of runs in the Shield brought him close to an Australian team berth.

Debut

The 20-year old Hughes made his international test debut against South Africa in February 2009 in Johannesburg, but got dismissed for naught. He made a strong statement in the second innings by scoring 75.

In the second test, the opener showed immense temperament and maturity to unleash tons (115, 160) in both the innings.

Four years later, he announced his arrival at ODI smashing 112 runs against Sri Lanka at Melbourne in January 2013.

In his lone international T20 game, he scored 6 against Pakistan in Dubai in October 2014.

Rise to Glory

The southpaw presented his attacking best when he smashed 86 off 75 deliveries to cruise Australia to victory in the first test against New Zealand in Wellington in March 2010.

Hughes showed his composure during defiant innings of 126 runs on a turning track in the second innings against Sri Lanka in September 2011.

In ODI, the left-hander played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 136 in the 5th match of his debut series.

Low Points

Since smashing two tons in his second test, he had a solitary ton against his name in the test.

His weakness in the short ball and outside off deliveries were exploited. His weakness against spin proved to be fatal as he averaged 18.38 in four tests in India during 2012-13.

In 25 ODIs, he scored 826 runs and 1535 runs in 26 tests.

Club Career

Hughes represented New South Wales before shifting to South Australia. He debuted in County cricket for Middlesex in 2009 with a blistering 574 runs in three matches with three tons. While he played for Hampshire in 2010, in 2012 he tried his luck in Worcestershire.

Records

Hughes became first Australian to notch a ton on ODI debut. In Ashes 2013, Hughes shared a record tenth wicket partnership of 163 runs with Ashton Agar against England in Nottingham.

In July 2014, Hughes became first Australian to notch a double-ton (202*) in a List A match against South Africa A in the Darwin Quadrangular.

While at 19 years of age, he became youngest to score a ton (116) in Sheffield Shield final against Victoria.