Hughes’ latest failure puts more pressure on Aussies

October 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Young Australian opener Phillip Hughes said an interaction with Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar helped him get over the disappointment of being dropped during the Ashes series. Hughes, 20, was dropped from the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has said that knocking defending champions Manchester United off their perch would be the biggest achievement of his career. Hughes would be looking forward to destroy the dynasty of his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson during the much anticipated Manchester derby on Sunday.

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - Manchester City coach-cum-manager Mark Hughes has launched an amazing attack on Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson. Sparky said Fergie's failure to replace Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinean forward Carlos Tevez has left rivals United 'below par.' "You can't afford to lose players of that standard and not replace them - and I don't think they have replaced them," The Sun quoted Sparky, as saying.

August 30th, 2009 LONDON - England all rounder Andrew Flintoff is stumping up 6,000 pounds to have two giant mosaics of the Ashes urn built into the bottom of his swimming pools. The England all-rounder is including two pools in the basement of the 4 million pounds mansion he's having built.

August 28th, 2009 LONDON/ NAGPUR - Sacked Australian opener Phillip Hughes is determined to make his way back into the squad and hopes to return against the West Indies in the first Test at Brisbane. Hughes, who was axed after the Lord's defeat against England, has been training in India with his coach Neil D'Costa and even has a chance to have a one-on-one session with Sachin Tendulkar this weekend.

August 17th, 2009 SURREY - England batsman Jonathan Trott, who makes his debut in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval, is convinced that he can withstand the crushing pressure of the series decider. Trott further said that he will take inspiration from Kevin Pietersen, his one-time teenage rival in South Africa.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - Dumped Australian opener Phillip Hughes has declared he has no fear of the short ball, citing his enormously successful debut tour in South Africa as proof it is not a major flaw in his game. Hughes also retained hope his Ashes series was not over despite his replacement Shane Watson excelling at the role with three half-centuries in as many innings.

July 31st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Former Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer have decided to take struggling youngster Phil Hughes under their wings. Hayden promised that he and Langer would counsel Hughes and help him return stronger as the selectors' decision to sack the 20-year-old ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston in the ongoing Ashes series drew flak from the country's former cricketers.

July 27th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen's absence will add more pressure on the Lord's Test hero Andrew Flintoff. Ponting believes his team had Pietersen's measure during the first two Tests of the ongoing Ashes series but wonders how England will cope without their batting star now he has been ruled out of the series following Achilles tendon surgery.

July 24th, 2009 LONDON - Australia's former Test skipper Kim Hughes and former leg spinner Shane Warne have said that main attack bowler Mitchell Johnson's confidence has hit 'rock-bottom' since the row with his mother became public. Johnson has lost his form and so far has taken eight wickets for 331 runs in the opening two Ashes Tests.

July 12th, 2009 CARDIFF - Kevin Pietersen has told his shell-shocked England team-mates they must stand up and be counted today to prove they can handle an intense summer of Aussie pressure. "We've put ourselves under a hell of a lot of pressure and it's up to us to stand up and be counted now," News of The World quoted Pietersen, as saying.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Australian batsman Simon Katich, who is Phillip Hughes's captain at New South Wales, has said that he had initially doubted the then 18-year-old's Hughes talent in 2007 Katich said he and Cricket NSW chief executive David Gilbert had heated arguments over Hughes in 2007, where Katich believed that Hughes was not ready for first-class cricket - as he could not handle the short ball, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. However, when Hughes scored an undefeated 51 on Sheffield Shield debut, Katich's fears were dispelled.

July 6th, 2009 PERTH - Former Australian opener Justin Langer believes that current opener Phillip Hughes will come up trumps during the Ashes series that gets underway from Wednesday. Langer has told Hughes to stick to the basics that helped him triumph over South Africa in his debut series and warned England's quicks they risk playing into the young Australian's hands if they try to pummel him with short-pitched bowling.

June 27th, 2009 SUSSEX - Australian opener Phillip Hughes was once again amongst the runs, 13 days before the first Ashes Test against England to be played at Cardiff from July 8. Hughes, Ponting and Clarke all passed 70 and the Australians declared their second innings against Sussex with a lead of 417 so as to give the bowlers a second crack at the county batsmen on Saturday.

June 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Ahead of making his Ashes debut, English batsman Ravi Bopara has warned the Aussies not to waste their breath trying to sledge him. England's No 3 was tickled by Oz legend Shane Warne labelling him vain, and claiming he is "too worried about how he looks" on the field.