'Shackles come off': Why BBL arrived at perfect time for Blues ...

New South Wales opener Daniel Hughes has opened up about his surprise Sheffield Shield axing, confessing his summer “hasn’t gone according to plan” despite a promising start.

The 34-year-old was the Blues’ leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season with 537 runs at 41.30, starting his 2023/24 campaign with classy fifties against Queensland and South Australia.

However, the opener’s red-ball form dipped after the first couple of rounds, posting scores of 0, 6, 20, 0*, 3 and 21 since the end of October. He was dropped ahead of last week’s match against Tasmania at the SCG, a decision that surprised several of his Blues teammates.

“I just needed to get some runs on the board,” Hughes told Fox Cricket this week.

“I got a lot of starts in the first half of the year and didn’t capitalise and make big hundreds.

“As a senior player, they obviously want to see more, and that’s fair enough.

“Any chance I get out in the middle is just to score as many runs as I can. That’s how it’s been my entire career. Runs are currency, as I’ve always said.

“Unfortunately, the start of the Shield season hasn’t really gone according to plan.”

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The Blues are currently fourth on the Sheffield Shield standings with two victories in six matches, a step in the right direction after the perennial powerhouse failed to register a win last summer.

“Most of the wickets around the country have been a bit tricky for batters, and that’s sort of reflected in our results, and a few other results as well,” Hughes continued.

“As a batting unit, we obviously need to be a bit better, but we’re finding a way to win games.

“We haven’t really had a complete game yet, we haven’t really batted well and bowled well in the same game.

“We’re just sort of finding a way.”

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For Hughes, the Big Bash League has arrived at the perfect time; the T20 competition allows him to bat with freedom and provides a much-needed break from red-ball cricket.

“I’m sure he’d admit himself that he hasn’t scored that runs that he would have liked,” Sydney Sixers and Blues teammate Jackson Bird told Fox Cricket.

“You need to perform consistently, and when you’re not having the performances as a team that you would have liked, change is inevitable.

“We all know how good a player Hughesy is. His record over the last however many years has been really good.

“He’s probably someone that will benefit from coming into the Big Bash break, playing with a bit more freedom.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back in and around the team after the break, and he’s a great man to have around the team.”

Hughes only played four games for the Sixers last season, accumulating 68 runs at 22.66, but the left-hander showed promising signs during Tuesday’s warm-up matches against the Sydney Thunder, smacking 57 (44) and 34* (13) at the SCG.

Australian superstar Steve Smith is set to play the Sixers’ season opener in Sydney this week, but a potential vacancy will open up after he joins the Test squad in Perth.

“I’m just looking forward to getting out there and having a crack if I get a chance,” Hughes explained.

“The shackles come off and you just go out there free of mind and just play what’s in front of you.

“Hopefully there’s some nice true wickets to bat on.”

The Sixers get their BBL campaign underway against the Melbourne Renegades at the SCG on Friday evening, with the first ball scheduled for 7.15pm AEDT.