Hughes itching to get back to England for Ashes
Australia batsman Phillip Hughes arrived home from a successful few weeks in England on Friday and said he could not wait to get right back on the plane to Europe for his first Ashes series.
The 20-year-old, who spent a month playing for English county side Middlesex, had never played in England before and said the experience had whetted his appetite for Australia's defence of the Ashes, which begins on July 8.
"I thoroughly enjoyed it and the preparation has been great to be honest," Hughes told reporters in Sydney on his return.
"I think the big thing that came out of it was that I played at three test grounds I'm going to be playing on and got to experience them before this big series coming up.
"Lord's was obviously my home ground there for Middlesex ... and I played at the Oval as well and Edgbaston. It couldn't have really worked out any better.
"The big thing was just going over there to experience the whole different culture really, the weather, the wickets and the bowlers as well."
Hughes hit three first class centuries and another in a one day match during his time in England, performances that look to have vindicated English concerns that a spell on the county circuit could only improve one of Australia's best young talents. The dashing left-hander's spell in England came after an astonishing tour of South Africa.
After making a four-ball duck in his debut innings at Johannesburg, he scored 75 in the next innings then twin centuries in the second test at Durban. He finished the series with 415 runs at an average of 69.16.
While he similarly plundered the English county attacks, he dismissed Australian concerns that England's test bowlers had been given a good look at him.
"The thing was I wanted to spend as much time as I could in the middle," he said. "I went over there to help guys around me win games of cricket and that's the big thing I wanted to do.
"I just wanted to contribute in that way, so it doesn't matter about those guys seeing me bat in the middle."
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