Perth, Dec. 14: Recalled opener Phil Hughes said on Tuesday that he was ready to be Australia’s Ashes saviour, despite his stuttering form with the bat in domestic cricket.
An Achilles injury to veteran Simon Katich opened the door once more for the 22-year-old Hughes for the vital third Test against England, starting on Thursday at the Waca ground in Perth.
“I am pumped and I can’t wait to get out there,” he said. “Mentally I feel really good and I am hitting them good in the nets, which is always a good sign.”
Hughes burst onto the Test scene with a pair of centuries against South Africa in his second Test, before falling out of favour during the 2009 Ashes tour of England. He has played seven Tests for 615 runs at an impressive average of 51.25, but has managed only 201 at 22.33 in first-class cricket for New South Wales this season.
“It has been disappointing that for New South Wales I haven’t really got that big score under my belt,” he said.
Meanwhile, the groundsman in charge of the pitch for the crucial third Ashes Test at the Waca says the track is close to regaining its status as the fastest in world cricket.
“Each year, the wicket block as it settles and compacts and gets harder, it is getting better. We think we are on the right track,” he said.
“The (Sheffield) Shield wickets have been pretty quick, we’ve been trying to get the Test wickets there and for one or two reasons haven’t been able to quite get there.”