Former Australia paceman Merv Hughes, speaking on the ‘Keeping it Real‘ podcast, revealed how Ian Chappell gave him a scathing assessment after his forgetful Test debut at Adelaide.
Hughes started his Test journey against India in 1985 at the Adelaide Oval, where he was dismissed for a five-ball duck before leaking 123 runs in 38 overs, with Sunil Gavaskar carrying his bat and scoring 166 out of India’s 520.
Chappell was left unimpressed by the then-24-year-olf Hughes and wanted him to concentrate on ‘bowling medium pace’.
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“My first Test against India, Adelaide Oval,” Hughes recalled. “People often ask to never forget your first Test match and I’ve got my hand up. No matter how hard I try I’ll never be able to forget my first Test match. 1-123 off 37 (38) overs, four-ball (five-ball) duck and possibly two or three dropped catches. It wasn’t a great start to international cricket.
“Ian Chappell, out of the commentary box, he was someone that as a young bloke was one of my heroes. The big three when I was coming up were Rod Marsh, Ian Chappell and Dennis Lillee. And Ian Chappell said, ‘The problem with Mervyn Hughes is he thinks he is a fast bowler. He should go back and concentrate on bowling medium pace and just tighten up a little bit and not give runs away.’
That’s the biggest kick in the backside I ever got. It was an interesting first Test match.”
Despite the blip on debut, Hughes went on to have a fine Test career for Australia, picking 212 wickets in 53 matches at 28.38 in the next nine years.
