He looked completely at ease, Australia's southpaw opener: solid in defence, comfortable in footwork, manoeuvring balls either side of the wicket and out-scoring his partner two runs to one. But that's enough about Simon Katch. People don't seem to be terribly interested in him. Why would they be? Katich will only be the bedrock of the Australia innings (and maybe their frontline spin bowler too).

What about the bloke at the other end. Ah yes, the wonderkid. That word precedes references to Phil Hughes like some Homeric epithet. And his reputation affects the way we assess at his batting. You see what you are looking for and look for what you think is there. Apply this to Hughes. He is an outstanding talent, so when he scores runs they must be brilliant runs. His dismissal can only be an aberration.

As a child I remember listening to John Arlott commentating on a Sunday League game between Hampshire and whoever it happened to be. Arlott's beloved Barry Richards had just got out and the great man (that's Arlott, for these purposes) said simply: "Barry Richards has decided not to bestow his genius upon us this afternoon." I felt a bit sorry for the overlooked bowler who must have done something half-well to claim this illustrious scalp.

In the first innings here at Hove, Hughes lost his middle stump driving loosely against Pepler Sandri, a 26-year-old from South Africa of Italian and Namibian parents making his Sussex debut. Should Andrew Strauss or Alastair Cook fall in the same way at the same time (the eighth over) of an England innings this summer then criticism will be like nothing encountered so far in their careers.

What we need is a little perspective. Hughes may well turn out to be Australia's best batsman since Ricky Ponting, a prediction that has been made on more than one occasion and is testament to the standing of the Australia captain as much as the potential of the 20-year-old. But has he yet scored three hundreds in successive Test innings, like Ravi Bopara? Sometimes we are good at talking up opponents.

In a perverse way, Hughes should feel more happy about a relatively scratchy effort today than some of his more fluent innings. The ability to keep scoring runs when the balls does not always fly off the middle of the bat is invaluable. If you cannot play like Victor Trumper - who scored a triple-hundred for Australia in this same fixture in 1899 - then it doesn't hurt to be Justin Langer or Katich instead.

The opening pair make a nice compare and contrast. Where Katich follows the traditional dictum to get back and across, Hughes barely moves as the bowler reaches delivery stride. He can give the illusion of backing away. He certainly scores heavily through the off side and, unlike Katich, missed a number of opportunities to clip away loose balls on his legs this morning.

It is worth bearing in mind, too, that Sussex have rested two of their leading bowlers in Corey Collymore and Piyush Chawla, while Jason Lewry is injured. Dwayne Smith, a useful bowler over the past couple of weeks, has also taken a break. Hughes will face a tougher challenge against England Lions next week when Stephen Harmison and Graham Onions will have him in their sights.

He did have his moments, driving crisply past long on and long off against Sandri, and steering balls from Luke Wright and Robin Martin-Jenkins into gaps in the off side. Mike Yardy, the Sussex captain, tried to counter him with a seven-two off-side field. James Kirtley also looked at the bouncer option, dropping short three times in an over. But Hughes was unruffled and reached a 25th fifty in 45 innings.