By IANS,
Sydney : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said he wants to learn all he could about the youngest member of touring squad to South Africa, the 20-year-old opener Phil Hughes.
“I will grab him on the plane and rip his iPod off him and have a listen to it, and see what gets him going,” Ponting said before boarding the flight at Sydney airport for South Africa.
“There’s a lot of knowledge for me to be able to pass on to guys like him.”
“He’ll be jumping out of his skin, there’s no doubt about that. He’ll be pretty nervous and pretty excited. Most of us older guys will probably have a good sleep on the flight,” Ponting said.
I’d be surprised if he has a sleep at all,” Ponting was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hughes’s entire family will be present to watch his debut. Parents Greg and Virginia, brother Jason and sister Megan are flying out Monday.
“Hopefully, he can be what we’re looking at the top of the order,” Ponting said.
“Obviously, he’s a very driven and motivated young bloke who wants to be very successful for Australia. He’s certainly done that for NSW.”
Ponting said he first spoke to Hughes at the Allan Border Medal presentation, when Hughes was named best young player.
“Justin Langer and I had a chance to have a drink with him that night and have a bit of a chat about his cricket and his batting. At that stage, no one knew he’d be in the touring team. It was good to learn a little bit about him and see what he’s all about.”