« Back to article

Print this article

Aussie Hughes claims 'sacrifices' made to earn Test recall

Phillip Hughes, who has been named in the Australia squad for the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Hobart, has claimed he has worked hard on his technique and made sacrifices to earn his baggy green once again.

Hughes expressed confidence that his attention to detail in improving his leg-side play will pay off as he makes his return to the big time in Friday's opening Test against Lanka at the Bellerive Oval.

The 24-year-old, with 17 Tests to his name, was dropped after the Hobart Test against New Zealand a year ago and has been recalled for the Sri Lankan series, with a likely role at No.3 instead of his usual opening position.

"It's a great feeling. I'm really excited about it. This is the ground where things probably didn't pan out perfectly on a personal note. Twelve months down the track, I feel like I'm in a better place now," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hughes, as saying.

Hughes put his head down and did extra work on his batting last summer once he was removed from the Test side, turning his back on the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League.

'I have got sides of the field covered now'

"I feel like I've done a lot of work. I knew I had to make sacrifices along the way and that was definitely one, to pull out of the Twenty20 comp last year, to work on my technique and become a better player," Hughes said.

The pull shot is the big weapon for Hughes these days, after relying heavily on the square-drive and cut in the past.

Hughes added: "It is a lot different. Probably 70 to 80 per cent of my scoring options were on the off side. I feel now I've got both sides of the field covered and that's something I had to go away and work on."

"The leg-side play was something big in my mind that I had to focus on. I'm free flowing now. It's easier when they do bowl straighter that I can work off my hip and off to the leg side," he said.