Phillip Hughes’ hometown of Macksville cannot wait for him to make his Test debut in South Africa. The anticipation of him donning the baggy green will result in the town’s local pub being packed to capacity on February 26, the first day of the Johannesburg Test. “It will be chock-a-block,” the pub manager Ben Padtridge told the Sydney Morning Herald. “There is talk around town of having a Phillip Hughes Day, everyone is loving it.”

News of Hughes’ selection was announced on the staffroom loudspeaker at his school Macksville High. His mentor Neil D’Costa singled out Hughes’ discipline as his greatest strength. “When he needs to rest, he will rest. When he needs to stay away from people, he will,” D’Costa said. “He is the type of guy that likes to go for a walk by himself and likes to go and fish.”