Merv Hughes
Encyclopedia
Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australia
n cricket
er. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches
, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick
in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA
in 1988–89 and went on to take 8-87. In 1993 he took 31 wickets in the Ashes
Series against England. He was a useful lower-order batsman, scoring two half-centuries in tests and over 1000 runs in all. He also represented Victorian Bushrangers
, Essex
in English county cricket
, Australian Capital Territory, Australia 'A'
(in the World Series Cup
), and Australia
.
. He started kindergarten while at Apollo Bay, and his first year at school came when the family was back at Euroa. Organised sport began in 3rd grade at Werribee. He pestered his father to be allowed to join the 5th Grade at Werribee at football practice and was able to hold his own, despite the fact that he was one of the smallest players when out of his age group. Hughes' enthusiasm for sport was described as "unquenchable."
with Footscray in 1978–79. Footscray (now called Footscray-Edgewater) subsequently has had their main home ground named after him, it is now known as the Mervyn G. Hughes Oval. He was selected for Victoria in 1981–82 and made his debut against South Australia. Hughes first appeared for Australia against India in 1985–1986. He took 1-123 and was not re-selected until the Ashes Series against England the following year.
At Perth in 1988–89 Merv Hughes completed a hat trick spread across three separate overs and two different days. He had Curtly Ambrose
caught behind with the last ball of his 36th over, ended West Indies' first innings in his 37th, by removing Patrick Patterson
, and more than a day later completed his hat-trick by trapping Gordon Greenidge
lbw with the first ball of West Indies' second innings.
The Australian selectors always viewed Hughes as a Test match
player rather than one-day player, and he was generally only selected for the shorter game when another player was injured or otherwise unavailable. Hughes played his last Test in Cape Town against South Africa
in 1994.
Late in his career Hughes undertook a stint with the Canberra Comets
which turned out to be unsuccessful. He claimed only five wickets at an average of 46.80 over six matches (Rodney Davison, Jimmy Maher
, Jamie Cox, Shaun Young
, and Ryan Campbell
).
's Celebrity Overhaul
to lose weight and improve his fitness. He was the top performer (weight-wise) in the first season of the show.
Hughes is noted for his large moustache. Described by Cricinfo as being "of incredible proportions", the moustache became sufficiently synonymous with Hughes for him to insure it for £200,000.
Hughes replaced Allan Border
in June 2005 as a selector for the Australian cricket team, however, his performance as a selector has come under much scrutiny after many controversial decisions and the loss of the number one ranking for Tests after the 2009 Ashes series
. However, Australia would go on and have a successful 2009–10 summer, finishing undefeated in all three forms of the game.
Later, however, he would be dropped as a selector for the Australian Cricket Team.
Hughes is a prominent supporter of the Western Bulldogs
Australian Football League
team. Hughes has also done some acting, portraying Ivan Milat
in the comedy movie, Fat Pizza.
He also appeared on TV commercials featuring losing weight with "The 14 day All Bran Challenge".
Hughes was replaced as selector by Greg Chappell
on 29 October 2010.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
in 1988–89 and went on to take 8-87. In 1993 he took 31 wickets in the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
Series against England. He was a useful lower-order batsman, scoring two half-centuries in tests and over 1000 runs in all. He also represented Victorian Bushrangers
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
, Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
, Australian Capital Territory, Australia 'A'
Australia A cricket team
The Australia A cricket team is a cricket team representing Australia and is the second team of the Australian cricket team. They have also played far more one-day than first-class matches; indeed they have played only three first-class games against equivalent A sides, against South Africa A in...
(in the World Series Cup
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
), and Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
.
Childhood
Hughes was born in Euroa, VictoriaEuroa, Victoria
Euroa is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie in North-East Victoria, Australia.At the 2006 census, Euroa had a population of 2,776. The name Euroa comes from an Aboriginal word in the old local dialect meaning "joyful".-History:Major T.L...
. He started kindergarten while at Apollo Bay, and his first year at school came when the family was back at Euroa. Organised sport began in 3rd grade at Werribee. He pestered his father to be allowed to join the 5th Grade at Werribee at football practice and was able to hold his own, despite the fact that he was one of the smallest players when out of his age group. Hughes' enthusiasm for sport was described as "unquenchable."
Career
Hughes started his career playing district cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
with Footscray in 1978–79. Footscray (now called Footscray-Edgewater) subsequently has had their main home ground named after him, it is now known as the Mervyn G. Hughes Oval. He was selected for Victoria in 1981–82 and made his debut against South Australia. Hughes first appeared for Australia against India in 1985–1986. He took 1-123 and was not re-selected until the Ashes Series against England the following year.
At Perth in 1988–89 Merv Hughes completed a hat trick spread across three separate overs and two different days. He had Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
caught behind with the last ball of his 36th over, ended West Indies' first innings in his 37th, by removing Patrick Patterson
Patrick Patterson
Balfour Patrick Patterson is a former fast bowler for the West Indian cricket team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...
, and more than a day later completed his hat-trick by trapping Gordon Greenidge
Gordon Greenidge
Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge MBE is a former member of the West Indies cricket team.Greenidge was an opening batsman for the West Indies. He began his Test career against India at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in 1974 and continued playing internationally until 1991. He was half of the West...
lbw with the first ball of West Indies' second innings.
The Australian selectors always viewed Hughes as a Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
player rather than one-day player, and he was generally only selected for the shorter game when another player was injured or otherwise unavailable. Hughes played his last Test in Cape Town against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
in 1994.
Late in his career Hughes undertook a stint with the Canberra Comets
Canberra Comets
The ACT Comets are a cricket team that represent the Australian Capital Territory. They were participants in the Australian domestic limited-overs Mercantile Mutual Cup competition. They did not, however, field a team in the four-day Sheffield Shield competition...
which turned out to be unsuccessful. He claimed only five wickets at an average of 46.80 over six matches (Rodney Davison, Jimmy Maher
Jimmy Maher
James Patrick Maher is a former Australian cricketer. He is "an attractive left-handed batsman with a clumping cover-drive"....
, Jamie Cox, Shaun Young
Shaun Young
Shaun Young is an Australian cricketer.He played in one Test at The Oval in London in 1997. He was called into the test team as a replacement as he happened to be in England at the time. He played in 138 first-class cricket matches for Tasmania and Gloucestershire taking 274 wickets with his best...
, and Ryan Campbell
Ryan Campbell
Ryan John Campbell is a former Australian cricketer who currently plays for ICL's Ahmedabad Rockets. Known as Cambo, he played for the Western Warriors as a wicket-keeper and as a quick-scoring right-handed batsman, often as an opener...
).
Personal life and later career
Hughes was a notorious consumer of alcohol and food. Towards the end of his career, this was felt to have increased damage to his knees and may have ultimately led to a shortening of his Australian and Victorian playing careers. Having always been rather overweight, he participated in both seasons of Channel NineNine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's Celebrity Overhaul
Celebrity Overhaul
Celebrity Overhaul is a reality television show on Australia's Channel Nine in which celebrities undergo a rigorous exercise and diet regime aimed at improving their fitness and health. These are coordinated by two personal trainers and a medical doctor...
to lose weight and improve his fitness. He was the top performer (weight-wise) in the first season of the show.
Hughes is noted for his large moustache. Described by Cricinfo as being "of incredible proportions", the moustache became sufficiently synonymous with Hughes for him to insure it for £200,000.
Hughes replaced Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
in June 2005 as a selector for the Australian cricket team, however, his performance as a selector has come under much scrutiny after many controversial decisions and the loss of the number one ranking for Tests after the 2009 Ashes series
2009 Ashes series
The 2009 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia, and was part of the Australian cricket tour of England in 2009. Starting on 8 July 2009, England and Australia played five Tests, with England winning the series 2–1...
. However, Australia would go on and have a successful 2009–10 summer, finishing undefeated in all three forms of the game.
Later, however, he would be dropped as a selector for the Australian Cricket Team.
Hughes is a prominent supporter of the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
team. Hughes has also done some acting, portraying Ivan Milat
Ivan Milat
Ivan Milat-Luketa was a Croatian painter and sculptor. He is a painter of the modern era in Croatian art history.-Life:...
in the comedy movie, Fat Pizza.
He also appeared on TV commercials featuring losing weight with "The 14 day All Bran Challenge".
Hughes was replaced as selector by Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
on 29 October 2010.