20 Facts about Phillip Hughes - A Star in the Sky

Phillip Hughes, who was a very promising Australian cricketer and a gentle human being, was a star gone too soon. He might have left the world, but his cricket presence can be felt through his records and his legacy. Phil Hughes was a talented left-handed opening batsman who represented Australia in 26 Tests and 25 ODIs. He had a strong relation with most of the Australian cricketers and will always be remembered as one of the most loved cricketers. Here are some interesting facts about Phillip Hughes that you must know.

1. Early life:

Phillip Hughes was born on November 30, 1988, to an Australian farmer, Greg Hughes, and Italian mother, Virginia. His birthplace was Macksville, New South Wales. He had two siblings, Jason Hughes and Megan Hughes. His father was a banana farmer. As a young kid, Phil loved to play on the farms where his father worked.

2. The first coach:

Phillip Hughes’ father was his first coach who often used to bowl to him on the farms and in the backyard. His father Greg saw his son taking a keen interest in the game and soon managed to get a bowling machine for him.

3. First club:

Phillip Hughes soon enrolled into the Macksville RSL Cricket Club. At a tender of age of 12, he excelled at the game and started playing A-grade cricket. He even notched up a century in the age group cricket.

4. Club cricket:

It was at the age of 17 that Phillip Hughes decide to move to Sydney in order to get more exposure towards the game and joined the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club in Sydney Grade Cricket. He attended the Homebush Boys High School at the same time there. He scored a century on his debut and played a classy innings of 141*. He impressed everyone with great performances throughout the season, amassing 752 runs at an average of 35.81.

5. U-19 World Cup call:

Owing to his performances in Grade cricket, Phillip Hughes received a call-up for the U19 national side for the 2008 U19 World Cup. He top scored in a match against Nepal in the group stages scoring 46 runs of 94 balls.

6. First-class heroics:

Phillip Hughes was soon into the rookie side of New South Wales second XI in the 2007-08 season. He soon got the call up to the main New South Wales side. He made his debut against Tasmania at the age of 18 years and 355 days. He became the youngest debutant for NSW since Michael Clarke in 1999. He scored a composed 51 runs on his debut. Hughes finished the season with 559 runs in 7 matches with an average of 62.11. It was in the final where he scored 116 of 175 balls against Victoria in the second innings which took his side to a win. At 19 years of age, he became the youngest player to score a century in Sheffield Shield final.

7. Test debut:

Phillip Hughes was called into the national side as a replacement for Matthew Hayden on Australia’s tour to South Africa in 2009. He had a horrible start to his career as he was dismissed for a duck by Dale Steyn in the first innings. But he covered up for it by scoring 75 in the second innings, being the top scorer.

8. First Test ton:

Phillip Hughes did not have to wait too long and scored his first century in the second match of the tour at Kingsmead, Durban. He scored 115 in the first innings and thus became the youngest Australian after Doug Walters to scores a Test century. He followed up the innings with another gem of an innings, a much better one, in the second innings of the same Test match. He scored 160 of 323 balls hitting 15 fours and 3 sixes. In the process, he became the youngest player in the history of the game to hit centuries in both innings of a Test match.

9. Troubled by the Martins:

In the Test series against New Zealand in 2011-12, Phillip Hughes had the roughest patch of his career. In the four innings that he played, he was dismissed in the same manner. He got out to Chris Martin and was caught by Martin Guptill in the slips in all four innings. He could score only 41 runs in the four innings there.

10. ODI call up:

Phillip Hughes made sporadic appearances in his Test career; mostly as a replacement for an injured player. But in 2012, when Ponting retired, he was tried at the number 3 spot. He succeeded and soon cemented his place in the side. Owing to these performances, he received the $1 million dollar contract from Cricket Australia and made his way to the limited overs squad following Mike Hussey’s retirement.

11. Century on ODI debut:

Hughes became the first Australian batsman to score a century on ODI debut when he mustered 112 runs of 129 balls against Sri Lanka at the MCG.

12. World record:

In a Test match against England at Trent Bridge, Hughes paired up with number 11 Ashton Agar to put up 163 runs for the 10th wicket which was a world record then. It was later broken by Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson (198 v India).

13. List A double century:

Phil Hughes became the first Australian to score a List A double century when he scored 202* for Australia A against South Africa A in 2014. It was the 15th double century ever scored in List A cricket and the first in Australia.

14. Awards galore:

Phil Hughes received many accolades for stellar performances in his domestic and international career. He was awarded the New South Wales Rising Star Award in 2007, Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2009, Sheffield Shield Cricketer of the Year in 2008-09 and Domestic Player of the Year in 2012-13.

15. Cricket not the only sport:

Hughes was an ardent lover of Rugby too. He was a good player of Rugby. He had the privilege to play alongside the Aussie international Greg Inglis once.

16. County connect:

Hughes was signed as cover up for Murali Karthik by Middlesex in 2009. Middlesex could have signed him as a Kolpak player since Hughes held an Italian passport but they signed him as a foreign national. Hughes plundered the bowling attack in the county season of 2009 and scored 574 runs at an average of 143.50 with three centuries and in three matches.

17. IPL:

Phillip Hughes was the surprise buy at the 2013 IPL auctions. He was roped in by the Mumbai Indians franchise. However, he did not get a chance to play a game in the IPL.

18. Highest batting average in T20 cricket:

Amongst all the players who have scored minimum 1000 runs and played 30 matches, Hughes holds the highest average among them. Hughes played 34 matches in his T20 career and scored 1,110 runs at 42.69 with 10 fifties; the next best being Chris Gayle’s 42.10.

19. Most consistent in all formats?

Among all the players in the cricket world with at least 20 innings in each format of the game, Hughes is the only player to average in excess of 40 in each of the three formats.

20.Tragic death:

On 25 November 2014, Hughes was hit on the neck by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott, during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG, causing a vertebral artery dissection that led to a subarachnoid haemorrhage. The Australian team doctor, Peter Brukner, cited that only 100 such cases had ever been reported, with “only one case reported as a result of a cricket ball”. Hughes was immediately taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where he underwent surgery, but was placed into an induced coma. He died on 27 November, having never regained consciousness, three days before his 26th birthday.