The Surfer

Lauding of Hughes should be put into perspective

Has Phillip Hughes scored three successive Test hundreds like Ravi Bopara

Has Phillip Hughes scored three successive Test hundreds like Ravi Bopara? The answer is no, and Richard Hobson in the Times says that what we need is a little perspective. Because, he says, sometimes we are good at talking up opponents.

In a perverse way, Hughes should feel more happy about a relatively scratchy effort today than some of his more fluent innings. The ability to keep scoring runs when the balls does not always fly off the middle of the bat is invaluable. If you cannot play like Victor Trumper - who scored a triple-hundred for Australia in this same fixture in 1899 - then it doesn't hurt to be Justin Langer or Katich instead.

Australia tour of England and Scotland

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo