Hughes mounts ODI claim as purple patch continues

New South Wales' Daniel Hughes has further enhanced his claims for national selection with yet another century in the Marsh One-Day Cup.  

Hughes has been mounting a case with sparkling 50-over form for several seasons now and today was no different, scoring 126 off 130 balls against Tasmania at North Sydney Oval. 

National selection chair George Bailey was in attendance to watch Hughes' knock which included 15 fours and three sixes.  

It's the opener's fourth hundred of this summer's Marsh Cup and his 10th overall, placing him alongside elite company. 

He becomes just the seventh man to have scored 10 or more centuries in Australia's long-running one-day domestic competition, following Brad Hodge (20 tons), Michael Klinger (12), Callum Ferguson (11), Shaun Marsh, Matthew Elliott and Jimmy Maher (all 10).  

And there are more impressive statistics from Hughes' purple patch that add to his burgeoning case for national selection which is especially pertinent with a World Cup in eight months' time. 

The left-hander’s average of 60.74 trumps each of those state legends too, with only the great Michael Bevan (61.18) boasting a higher average in the Cup's 53-year history.

He also joins Hodge and former NSW opener Phil Jaques as the only players to hit four centuries in a season, with Jaques completing the feat in 2005-06 and Hodge in 2009-10.  

Despite his prolific run-scoring over the last few seasons, Hughes is yet to play for Australia, nor has he been in an Australian squad.  

He was selected in an Australia A squad in 2017, but that tour to South Africa was cancelled after a pay dispute.

A late bloomer, Hughes played a sole one-day match for NSW in 2012-13 but would have to wait four years for his next shot in the side. 

From October 2016 onwards however, the runs have flowed.  

Since then, the 34-year-old has been the most dominant batter in the competition, with his 2,048 runs nearly 600 ahead of the next best Callum Ferguson (1,480). 

When focused just on opening batters, that gulf grows even further with Jake Weatherald (1,383 runs) and Ben McDermott (1,322) the next best.  

Unsurprisingly, Hughes sits atop the Marsh Cup run-scorers list this season too having peeled off three tons before the Big Bash break.  

The first was 117 off 128 against Test bowlers Scott Boland and Todd Murphy at the Junction Oval, a match that Victoria won in the dying stages in controversial circumstances.  

The second was a dominant 139 off 127 in a big run-chase against South Australia at North Sydney Oval.  

He hit four sixes and 14 fours and was on track to guide NSW to a big victory, but with 15 required off 16 balls he was run out at the non-striker's end off the fingertips of bowler Nathan McSweeney.   

And against the Tasmanian pace attack of Riley Meredith, Peter Siddle, Nathan Ellis and Tom Rogers he plundered his third century of the season, 101 off 114 balls.  

Hughes was nonchalant when asked about his claims of higher honours following that century in Hobart.  

"I should have started scoring those runs when I was a bit younger," Hughes said.  

"But you never know, just keep putting runs on the board and you never know." 

Australia play 11 one-day internationals before the World Cup begins in October, with six taking place in India (three in March, three in September) and five in South Africa.