PHILLIP Hughes' little-girl-with-a-curl ODI career continued in the series-ending match against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten century that showcased his ability to accelerate.
Having been very good with a century on debut earlier this month and then very bad in the following three innings, making a total of seven runs, the left-hander's move to No. 3 gave another reminder that when he is good, he is very good.
Hughes' record of two centuries in five matches is unprecedented, with the next-best start to an ODI career being Steve B. Smith's two centuries in nine matches in the early 1980s. It also stacked up well internationally, with only six other players - none of them big names, admittedly - achieving the same feat in such a short period.
Perhaps even more significant than those historical milestones, however, was Hughes' ability to recover from a subdued start.
At the 20-over mark of Australia's innings the 24-year-old had a strike-rate below 50, having scored 20 from his first 47 deliveries and conceded two maiden overs to Sri Lanka's bowlers, a liability in limited-overs matches.
Even when he reached his half-century, from 82 deliveries, there was an obvious parallel to last summer's ODI at Blundstone Arena, when inexperienced Queenslander Peter Forrest contributed 104 not out but required 138 deliveries to compile the innings. The achievement became somewhat hollow after Sri Lanka successfully chased a target of 281.
With Australia not reaching 100 until the 29th over on Wednesday it seemed another large individual innings could be overshadowed by having been achieved in a losing team. Apart from wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who made a bright 22 off 23 at the top before he was trapped leg-before - and squandered his team's only referral in the process - Australia's other top-order batsmen, David Warner and George Bailey, each struggled to put run-rate pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The catalyst for Australia's recovery was acting captain Bailey's departure for a sluggish 17 off 43 deliveries and the arrival of David Hussey in the 27th over. The right-hander's intensity - he scored from all but four of his first 20 deliveries - proved contagious for Hughes.
By the time Hussey departed in the 44th over for a 34 he had shared a 98-run partnership with Hughes, who belied his sluggish start by scoring at a run a ball between his half-century and century.
While Hughes' international comeback this summer has not been seamless many innings contain evidence his latest incarnation is better equipped to flourish at international level over a longer period than he was four years ago when he debuted.
One of the key examples of that growth seen on Wednesday was his ability to drive Lasith Malinga wide of mid-on to the boundary. Previously, most of Hughes' driven boundaries in front of square would be on the off-side, making it easier to set fields to him.
When Australia's innings finished at 5-247 Hughes was on 138 and his strike-rate, significantly, had recovered sufficiently to finish at just under 90, an acceptable pace for a batsman able to occupy the crease for 43 overs and make the majority of his team's run.
Hughes was chosen at number three in his return to the Test team in December, even though he had played the bulk of his career as an opener, because doing so allowed the least disruption to Australia's batting order. While Michael Clarke may choose to resume at number three in the looming ODI series against the West Indies, this latest innings from Hughes has at least given the captain and Australia's other selectors more flexibility in devising their ideal limited-overs batting order.
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