Congratulations Phillip Hughes!

NSW battered Victoria out of the final of the state competition yesterday, with teenage opener Phillip Hughes and captain Simon Katich batting themselves into the record books in the process. Hughes, the 19-year-old left-handed opener, scored his maiden first-class ton - a huge personal milestone - but his score of 116 had even more significance for the side as it set up a 417-run lead, with five wickets and two days' play remaining. 

Hughes, who trains at the Activate Cricket Centre, is the first teenager to score a century in a Pura Cup final and the youngest NSW centurion since Doug Walters in 1965. Perhaps more significantly, he has now outstripped the debut seasons of both Ricky Ponting and Clarke.  "He's killed them," enthused Hughes's batting coach and manager, Neil D'Costa. "And not just on the figures but how he's batted, too. He's been unbelievable."

Since his debut against Tasmania in November last year, Hughes has racked up 559 runs with six 50s and a century at an average of 62.11 - almost double the average achieved by Clarke in his first summer.

D'Costa said after three years of solid cricket, Hughes would now take two or three weeks off, to do a few normal things, like getting his driver's licence. Hughes, who resumed on 10 in the morning, showed no nerves and left Test opener Phil Jaques stranded in the starter's blocks. Jaques, normally no slouch, was pushing and prodding for singles while Hughes dominated, scoring at better than a run a ball. The teen's progression had a sense of inevitability about it. "Some players seem to have scripts written for them," D'Costa said.