Kim Hughes intereview some 'odd' comments

Just happened to hear an interview with Kim Hughes on the radio in the early hours of this morning.

He sounded a touch bitter but made some interesting remarks including:

Australia would have won the Ashes in 81 had he been allowed to take Yardley and Laird on the tour. He roundly condemned that fact that Greg Chappell who didn't tour had an input into selection and he didn't. I could be mistaken but maybe the team was selected before Chappell pulled out. He also said it was "bullsh!t" that he had to captain on tour while Chappell got the cushy home tests. Launched into a mini-tirade re. the second Chappell.

Said bowling standards have dropped and that in his time nearly all the bowlers had 150k as a starting point unlike today and that Thommo could have clocked anything on the radar.

Said Marshall was the best quick he ever faced and pointed out how he had to break into the team such was the strength of the Windies. Also highly rated Roberts and Garner but said there was nobody better than Marshall bowling around the wicket. Rated Lillee though as the best new ball bowler he's ever faced.

Described that unbeaten ton he got against the Windies in 81 as his greatest ever innings and asked people to consider how much of the total he made against the best attack in the world. Said it was an unbelieveable innings.

Doesn't rate this Indian team at all and thinks they're pathetic away from home.

Thinks England is a mile ahead of anyone else because they have the pace bowlers but thinks the Aussies are getting there again on the back of Pattinson.

Poked fun at the journos and fans who wanted Hussey and Punter dropped. Said that nobody in the world bats better than Hussey and that has been the case for some time.

Said that the batsmen of his era would have all averaged 50+ against today's pie chuckers and with the bats and protective equipment they have.

All in all, as mentioned sounded a bit bitter but perhaps suffered from a touch of hyperbole as well.

What radio station was it?

Who did the interview?

SEN.

Cheers

Hard to argue with much of that. Particularly his ton v the Windies being extraordinary

Said that the batsmen of his era would have all averaged 50+ against today's pie chuckers and with the bats and protective equipment they have.

I assume he was primarily talking about Rick Darling and Peter Toohey

Oh also forgot to add, and thought this was exaggeration, he thought that with modern batting techniques, the sides of today would have been dismissed for under fifty every innings if they were playing agains that Windies attack.

Helluva difference between "would have" and "did".

G.Wood wrote:Hard to argue with much of that. Particularly his ton v the Windies being extraordinary.

Indeed. The likes of Claggy and AB really got the short end of the pineapple when it came to playing the Windies at their best over and over. And I agree with Clag re: GSC's picking and choosing of tours. It was weak.

Clag's ton in Melbourne with Clem at the other end was definitely one of the classier knocks we've witnessed.

Hmmmm - all a bit at odds with the Chappell version. Acc to the McGregor biog of GSC, Greg was Kim's unofficial batting coach, and preferred vice-captain in 83-84, and whatever crap was flying between Ian C and Hughes never spread to Greg. The timing is also interesting in that this outburst came some time after Kim publicly reconciled with DKL and Rod Marsh who turned away Christian Ryan's advances and warned KH that Ryan's book was on its way.

Re the two Bruces: Kim may have had a point there, although it's had to see them as THE difference. Esp seeing as the first thing Greg asked for and got when he reclaimed the Akelaship after Ashes 81 was the return of Yardley and Laird (and Jeff Thomson) to the side. Maybe Kim thought that it seemed to matter too much who was doing the asking.

Yardley would have been ten times better than Ray Fecking Bright, who must have been an outstanding drink mixer because he sure as hell couldn't do anything else.

skully wrote:

G.Wood wrote:Hard to argue with much of that. Particularly his ton v the Windies being extraordinary.

Indeed. The likes of Claggy and AB really got the short end of the pineapple when it came to playing the Windies at their best over and over. And I agree with Clag re: GSC's picking and choosing of tours. It was weak.

Clag's ton in Melbourne with Clem at the other end was definitely one of the classier knocks we've witnessed.

Greatest day of test cricket ever.