Plenty of time for Hughes to mature - just like Clarke, says coach
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font Will Swanton
November 20, 2009
Advertisement
NEIL D'COSTA is the batting coach of Test vice-captain Michael Clarke and the discarded opener Phillip Hughes. He says if Hughes wants proof that criticism can be fleeting and setbacks temporary, he need only look at the early days of Clarke's career.
''When Michael first got in the Sheffield Shield team, go back and look up the articles - people said he couldn't hit the ball, he was too small, he always scratches around, he's got to bat three hours to make 50," D'Costa said from India last night after Hughes's latest omission from the Test side.
"His first 15 one-day games for Australia, Michael played some of the most disgraceful shots you've ever seen. People have forgotten about that now. That's why I'm the most relaxed bloke around about Phil and his future, because I've seen how it all evolved with Clarkey.
''From my position, I say to Phillip: 'You're in a fantastic position in your cricket career, mate.' He's found a career. There are 20-year-olds trying to finish their apprenticeship so they can start working their bums off for the rest of their lives. They've got no money. Phillip is being paid to do what he loves - and he appreciates it.
''People have to stop saying the selectors haven't shown faith in him. They [Cricket Australia] have given him a two-year contract. In my book, that's faith in a 20-year-old, giving him time to get himself right. I don't see anything bad in this. He's still finding himself as a cricketer. He might never get back in that Test team. Who knows? But he's not whingeing and moaning, he's getting on with trying to make runs for NSW. People like him, they fight back, believe me."
Sympathy for Hughes? D'Costa suggests keeping it to yourself. "If anyone walks up to Phil and slaps him on the back and says 'bad luck', I'll grab them and say, 'bad luck for what?'
"Sorry for Phil Hughes? You're kidding me. Does he want to play cricket for Australia? Of course he does. Does he wish they didn't drop him? Of course he does. But he's not sitting in a corner crying because he's not in the Test team. Most guys his age are still trying to get into first grade. They'd kill to get one game for NSW. He's not even 21 and look what he's done. We're talking Steve Waugh Medal, Sheffield Shield player of the year, youngest ever player to score a hundred in a Shield final, youngest player to represent Australia, he's won a Champions League, he's won a Sheffield Shield, he's won a Test series.
''I always tell him this: 'Your life's not bad, mate.' And he knows it. He's probably one of the most written about, most talked about, most scrutinised players around. But no one should be feeling sorry for him. His ability to bounce back is endless because he's a happy young man. Look around … you reckon he's got troubles? Australia has the highest rate of youth suicide per capita in the world. Kids his age are fighting depression, they can't get work, they've got trouble at home, they're doing it tough. They're the 20-year-olds we should be worrying about.''
Youthful exuberance aside, Hughes's confidence must have taken a hit from his sacking during the Ashes. Selection chairman Andrew Hilditch yesterday admitted Hughes could have forced his way back into the Test XI with a big score for NSW this season but he's failed to pass 50 in two Sheffield Shield innings.
"I've made no secret of the fact I think he's going to be a very exciting player in Australian cricket," Hilditch said. "We were looking for a bit more form in Shield cricket before he came back into the Test side. He's a great young kid and obviously has proved he can play at international level, so we're just going to continue to monitor his form and we still see him as very much part of our future."
"He's a bottle of wine,'' D'Costa said. ''Tastes great, you know he's going to be good - but you don't need to slap a label on him just yet."
Thats quite surprising, wonder if they ever heard of BEE, hello!.