Hughes happy in his new home

_{Phillip Hughes took time out to chat to ECBtv after arriving at Lord's to play for Middlesex}

Just like he did in South Africa last month when he sauntered into the record books, Phillip Hughes breezed into Lord's this week seemingly without a care in the world.

The 20-year-old opener announced himself onto the world stage in sensational style when he became the youngest player to score hundreds in both innings of a Test, eclipsing the previous record set by George Headley in 1930.

Two centuries in your second Test is the stuff of dreams but it was the manner in which he reached his first ton which was perhaps the most astonishing. Having reached 93, he launched Paul Harris for consecutive sixes to bring up his maiden century. So much for the nervous 90s.

Compare that to arriving at Middlesex where his six-week stint has caused a media storm with players and journalists annoyed that Hughes will get acclimatised on English wickets ahead of the Ashes.

After Andrew Strauss spoke to the press as part of Middlesex's season launch, Hughes strolled in to face cricket writers ready to grill him about his short spell in London.

But much like that sunny day in Durban, Hughes, with his boyish smile and gleaming earrings, fended off anything thrown his way and insisted he is thrilled to have the chance of playing at Lord's.

"I've been here two days and had my first runaround - it was good to get to know the guys," Hughes told ECBtv.

Australian Phillip Hughes relaxes in the Harris Garden at Lord's after arriving as Middlesex's overseas player

"I love playing cricket so to be here at the Home of Cricket and then going to the Ashes - it's going to be a great summer.

"The biggest thing is the six-week stint for Middlesex and then the Ashes after that. It's a series that as a kid growing up you are always watching and hearing about. It's one the world gets involved in and something I am looking forward to.

"I'm very excited (about playing at Lord's). Walking out there for my first game on Wednesday, I won't be able to wipe the smile off my face, I'll be that pumped. As a kid you hear about Lord's and now to get the opportunity to play here is very exciting. It couldn't be better.

"I want to experience different conditions. I want to score as many runs as I can for the guys and hopefully contribute to winning games of cricket. That's why we play the game."

Hughes is getting used to life in the spotlight ever since his heroics in South Africa. Every sports writer loves to announce the birth of a new star and it was not long before Hughes was mentioned in the same breath and Don Bradman.

"There has been a fair bit of media talk but that's a part of it," he said. "I want to play professional cricket and the hype comes with that. I'm pretty laid back."

Hughes admits his life has turned upside down in the past two months.

"Sometimes I still wake up in the morning and pinch myself," he said. "It's been a couple of months I'll never forget."

His Test debut in Johannesburg was certainly a bitter-sweet moment. After being handed the famous baggy green cap an hour before play started at the Wanderers, along with Marcus North and Ben Hilfenhaus, Hughes' first knock as an Australia Test batsman lasted just four balls, caught behind off Dale Steyn following a shot which would not have looked out of place at Wimbledon.

"The biggest thing as a kid growing up was to play for your country and get that baggy green cap," he said. "To get that at the age of 20 and for my family to be there was an exciting day.

Hughes celebrates reaching three figures - a sight Middlesex members hope to see in the next six weeks

"To get a fourth ball duck, it couldn't have gone any worse."

Shrugging off that disappointment to make 75 in the second innings, Hughes set up the series win with two tons in Durban, the first he reached in some style.

"Bringing it up with the two sixes, I have never done that before," he explained. "I have never scored two centuries in one game in any form of cricket, so to get that was exciting.

"I don't know if I was nervous, I just wanted to get it. I hit one six and they brought the guy up from the fence so I thought if he's going to throw it up then I'm going to run down and try and go after this one. I've never done that before. I'm usually nicking it and nudging ones or twos around the corner."

While Australians are still scouring the land for the next Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, they can call off the hunt for Matthew Hayden's replacement.