Phil Hughes wants the 86 he scored on his Test return to lead to a permanent spot at number three for Australia, who reached 4 for 299 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Hobart.
On a day where the man Hughes replaced, Ricky Ponting, was given a cavalcade farewell around the Bellerive Oval during the lunch interval, the left-hander batting at three for the first time in a Test match showed patience and a more solid technique than in his last appearance for Australia at the same ground a year ago.
It seemed that he would crown his return with his fourth Test ton before he was bowled by an in-swinger from Chanaka Welegedara (3 for 99) just after tea.
"It was nice to get runs today, disappointing to get out then, would have been good to get three figures and beyond," Hughes told Grandstand.
"It wasn't to be, but on a personal note it was nice to get a few."
Hughes said his mindset going in was to play his natural game.
"There were periods of the game where it was quite tough (to bat) ... there were a few areas where they bowled quite straight, made it tough to score.
"But once you got in, you wanted to make the most of it.
"Early on they bowled quite well ... I had to leave early and play positively outside the off stump - that was probably the number one thing for me."
A year ago, Hughes left Hobart a distraught man after being caught cheaply in both innings against New Zealand after nicking to second slip off Chris Martin.
He has no doubt he is a tougher proposition to bowl at now.
"I feel like I'm totally a better player, being out of the team for 12 months, I had to do the work behind the scenes," Hughes said.
"My game's in pretty good order at the moment. It's nice to get a few - the confidence is quite high - I just want to push in and cement this number three spot.
"I've opened in 17 test matches for Australia and today was just a different challenge and I really enjoyed it.
"I have batted in various positions for state teams over the years but I really enjoyed (batting at) three and hopefully I can make it my own."
Hughes came to the wicket in the sixth over after Ed Cowan was caught after an uncharacteristic mistimed hook looped to Shaminda Eranga at midwicket off Welegedara.
David Warner batted well for his 57 before a mix up with Hughes saw him run out thanks to smart fielding from Angelo Mathews.
The other wicket to fall was Shane Watson (30) who drove Welegedara to Mahela Jayawardene at second slip.
It was a frustrating knock by Watson, the 13th time in 66 innings he has lost his wicket between 30 and 40, but one that typified his Test batting career - a solid start before losing his wicket after the hard work had been done.
Not for the first time this summer Michael Clarke (70) and Mike Hussey (37) solidified the innings, putting on an unbroken stand of 101 for the sixth wicket.
Clarke passed the 1,400-run mark for the year and has in his sights Ricky Ponting's record of 1544 set in 2005.
Hughes praised the way the captain and veteran left-hander dealt with the conditions in closing out the day on a pitch he felt "was a little bit up and down".
"A couple of deliveries kept low through the day. It will be quite interesting as the day goes on (tomorrow); I think it might play some funny tricks going on," Hughes said.
"There were periods there where they bowled well; there were periods where they let off.
"But there was an hour period after the lunch break where they bowled exceptionally well I thought.
"As a batsman you have to be more patient than the opposition, and Michael (Clarke) and Huss (Hussey) at the end they showed that."
Tags: sport, cricket, australia, hobart-7000 First posted December 14, 2012 18:57:04
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