Hobart (Tasmania), Dec.5 (ANI): Young New South Wales opener Phillip Hughes has passed two of Donald Bradman's records despite his side's Sheffield Shield loss to Tasmania at Bellerive Oval this week.
Twenty-year-old Hughes set the Shield record for the greatest two-innings contribution to a team's game total, edging past Bradman. In doing that, he also scored his first 1,000 domestic first-class runs at a younger age than The Don.
The pint-sized left-hander, aged 20 years and four days, has now scored 1,200 runs at an average of 52.17 since his November 2007 debut for the Blues.
The Don, at age 31, held the record with 58.2 per cent of South Australia's total of 586 in a match against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval in the 1939/1940 season with unbeaten digs of 251 and 90.
Almost 70 years later, Hughes, in this week's Bellerive Oval match, scored 93 and 108 to account for 58.3 per cent of the Blues' 345 match total.
In claiming his third Shield century in only 15 first-class appearances, Hughes sailed past his first 1,000 first-class runs. He did it younger than Bradman's 20 years and 151 days.
Hughes on Thursday said he was excited by these achievements.
"I hear a lot about these things but for the time-being I just want to keep enjoying my cricket and keep playing for NSW," The Daily Telegraph quoted Hughes, as saying.
"On a personal note, everything is going to plan at the moment and I'm very happy with the way things are going. But it was very disappointing to lose this game."
Doug Walters was three weeks younger than Hughes when he first played for Australia - Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh had to wait until they were closer to 21 than him.
If Hughes was picked to play for Australia now could he handle it?
"Definitely. My dream is to play for Australia one day and hopefully I will get that chance but in the meantime I don't want to think about that," he said. (ANI)
