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Kim Hughes
Kimberley
John Hughes (born 26 January, 1954) is a former cricketer
who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia.
His first-class debut was at the WACA Ground on 2
November 1975 when he provided a masterful exhibition
of strokeplay against New South Wales, making 119
in 166 minutes and becoming the fifth Western Australian
batsman to make a century on debut.
Hughes'
Test debut was versus England at The Oval in 1977
and his last test was against the West Indies at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1985. Hughes was named
as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1981. He was
also a member of the non-World Series Cricket teams
of the late 1970s, and it was his involvement with
the Australian Cricket Board at the time that would
affect his relationship with senior players Greg Chappell,
Rod Marsh, and Dennis Lillee.
He
came to the Australia captaincy in 1978/79 at the
age of 24, when many of the country's most experienced
players were aligned with World Series Cricket[citation
needed] and in later sharing the captaincy with Greg
Chappell, he led Australia mostly on away tours. Hughes
tearfully relinquished the captaincy following Australia's
defeat in the second Test against the West Indies
in 1984/85 and finished with a disappointing captaincy
record of four wins, 13 losses and 11 draws. He lost
his place in the side two Tests later, having scored
just two runs in his final four innings, including
a golden duck in his last Test innings.
After
being left out of the Ashes squad for the 1985 trip
to England, Hughes accepted a deal to captain the
rebel tour side to South Africa. Hughes believed he
had nothing left to offer Australian cricket, while
many believed that Hughes was victimised for his association
with the ACB during the WSC era.
Following
the rebel tour, Hughes returned to Western Australia
to play first-class cricket but struggled, and returned
to South Africa to play for Natal. However, his time
ended in acrimony there as well, and after two seasons
with Natal he retired from first-class cricket.
Unfairly,
he is remembered more for his unlucky captaincy record,
but was one of the most talented batsmen of his generation.
In the first Test in Melbourne against the West Indies
in 1981-82, he faced the fearsome fast-bowling quartet
of Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and
Colin Croft. Hughes' brave 100* out of a total of
only 198[3][4] enabled Australia to win a low-scoring
match and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The
Wisden 100 ranking of the Top 10 Test Innings of all
time ranked that innings as number nine. Since retirement
Hughes has been a chairman of selectors for the Western
Australian Cricket Association and more recently a
cricket commentator on ABC radio.
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