An honour down Hughes road

There is a lot of negativity surrounding Australian cricket at the moment but they do so well in some aspects which will never be viewed as poor form For example the Hall of Fame inductions which happen every year This year on Tuesday they announced an honour for a character called Mervyn Gregory Hughes better known in the cricketing world as MervThere was more to Hughes than his moustache and mannerisms appearance and attitude He was also a fine bowler who didnrsquot have the best of starts to his Test careerHe conceded 123 runs with only Dilip Vengsarkarrsquos wicket to show at the Adelaide Oval in 1985 Television expert and commentator Frank Tyson was convinced Hughes had played in his one and only Test but he earned a comeback for the 198687 Ashes Hughes was not universally celebrated even four years and 30 odd wickets later After yet another delivery of his was pitched down the leg side against the visiting Sri Lankans at Hobart in 1989 Ian Chappell remarked ldquoThe trouble with Merv Hughes is that he thinks hersquos a fast bowlerrdquo Chappell was to clarify according to Hughesrsquos biography written by Patrick Keane that he was not slamming the big pacerrsquos effort but his inaccuracy Nevertheless Hughes had every right to feel hard done by because Chappellrsquos comment came in the midst of a fivewicket spell one that bowled Australia to victory at the Bellerive OvalHughes went on to be one of Australiarsquos key weapons and played a significant role in the countryrsquos revival in the Allan Border years In 53 Tests he claimed 212 wickets which contributed to three successful Ashes campaignsIf the one Test against India in 1985 was nothing worth cherishing Mohammed Azharuddinrsquos team encountered a probing paceman in 199192 22 wickets in five Tests The one top order batsman he didnrsquot dismiss was Sachin Tendulkar It was during this series that he told his captain Border that ldquothis little pk is going to score more runs than yourdquo When I interviewed Hughes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2000 he insisted that he didnrsquot try and sledge Tendulkar while he took hundreds off the Aussies at Sydney and Perth ldquoI remember saying to myself lsquoWhy bother about Sachinrsquo He was unflappable and is still the same You could see then that he is destined for great thingsrdquoHughes was as tough as they came He could have gone back to Australia to sort out his bad knee after helping Borderrsquos men clinch the 1993 Ashes by the fourth Test at Leeds but decided to play on and that probably brought about an end to his career He lasted only one series after thatHughesrsquos critics reckoned his love for food played a role in his exit from the international fray at 32 Yes Hughes loved his foodhellipfast food I remember Greg Chappell telling his audience at a MRF Pace Foundationorganised seminar at Chennai in 2003 how the Australian cricket team were given a presentation by a dietician in the early 1990s Chappell recalled ldquoHughes went back to the room he shared with Shane Warne He called room service and ordered two hamburgers two family size Cokes and a big bag of chips He then turned to his young roomie and said lsquoAnd what do you want Warniersquo rdquoHughes realised that his overindulgence was hurting him but it seemed he couldnrsquot help himself Bob Simpson whose coaching stint with the Australian team coincided with Hughesrsquos career provided an example of the fast bowlerrsquos affinity for food in his book The Reasons Why Simpson and physiotherapist Errol Alcott decided to monitor Hughesrsquos intake closely One day they found him missing in the Adelaide Oval dressing room A thorough search by one of the players ended when Hughes was seen in a toilet cubicle with in Simpsonrsquos words ldquothe biggest plate of sandwiches yoursquove ever seenrdquo But Hughes didnrsquot leave anything in the dressing room when he took the field Simpson credited him for taking all the ldquohard wicketsrdquo during the 1989 Ashes even as Terry Alderman swung Australia to glory His large frame notwithstanding he was a quick mover in the outfield and took whatever catches came his way At training Simpson said Hughes sweated ldquohis guts outrdquo for as many as 10 high catches in a row He took them all and was invariably ready for the 11thThe moustache was a big part of his personality He told me that it brought him luck I asked him whether it helped him intimidate batsmen He agreed but not without adding ldquoBut you canrsquot do that to good batsmenrdquo Considering his presence and demeanour it is not surprising that Hughes got himself involved in a few sledging incidents Therersquos a story about Javed Miandad calling him a bus conductor while batting against him in the 198990 series Down Under When Hughes dismissed him he is believed to have told the feisty Pakistani ldquoTickets pleaserdquoHis The Oval 1989 exchange with Robin Smith reproduced in The Wildmen of Cricket by Ken Piesse and Brian Hansen is amusing as well Smithrsquos constant playing and missing caused Hughes to remark expletives removed ldquoYou canrsquot bat Smithrdquo After the South Africanborn England batsman hit him for a boundary Hughes was told ldquoWell we make a good pair donrsquot we I canrsquot bat and you canrsquot bowlrdquo Hughes was no saint and copped criticism for his boorish behaviour several instances of abusive utterances to umpires and opposing players but he was a maverick which had people coming through the turnstiles If there are characters like him we donrsquot see them on the scene He may not have been everyonersquos cup of tea but who wouldnrsquot want to buy Australian cricketrsquos latest Hall of Fame inductee a drink and listen to him speakmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper