Go Phil Hughes, go!

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Australia is playing a test series in South Africa at the moment. This means it is on the radio through the night, starting off at about 7.30pm. I actually prefer it when Australia is on tour, and I can wash dishes, sort clothes, draw or snooze while the trusty ABC radio crew bring the game to life with words. A test goes for up to five days, seven hours a day. It can be quite dislocating (in a good way) to be mentally in Johannesburg, or Barbados, or Jaipur when everyone else around you is stuck here.

Last night our new opening batsman, little Phil Hughes, made his debut century in only his second test. I tuned in when he was on 87 - about to enter the nervous nineties. Batsmen can get stuck in the nineties for more than an hour, transfixed by the prospect of a test century that means so much. Hughes noodled a couple of singles to reach 89. On the radio the doyen Jimmy Maxwell said "Hughes is looking a bit nervous, he's pottering around in the crease and prodding the pitch". Hughes proved him wrong by hitting the next ball for 4, to go to 93. The next ball he hit over the fence for six, to go to 99. The next ball he hit for another six. No-one goes from 89 to 105 in three balls, in a test match - the confidence of the young man is staggering. He will be playing for Australia for a long time.

I actually felt pretty emotional about it (it was very late at night.) A lot of great champions have retired from the Australian team in a short time, and these young blokes are finding their own way to a large extent. Following on from Marcus North's century on debut in the last test, I really feel good about the future, at least on the cricket field.