Australia’s golden boy, Kim Hughes, used to be the life of the party. But then his alcohol abuse caught him. The former test captain says it was hard to lose almost everything before accepting it was time to lift the stumps.
Wayne Clark recalls that his heart sank when he received the phone call.
His friend was at an event, circling and finishing the drinks of the other guests at the end of the night.
“I got a couple of calls from some guys at a Hall of Fame function,” Clark recalls.
“Kim had gotten very drunk again. She was just getting embarrassed.”
Kim is the former Australian cricket captain and beloved personality Kim Hughes, who was in a spiral of alcohol addiction.
It was a tragic fall for one of Western Australia’s favorite children.
One that cost him his marriage, isolated him from his family, and could eventually have cost him his life.
Hughes, who was once the second-highest incumbent in the country, has now been sober for 18 months, rebuilding his relationships and taking on a new mission: to help those struggling with addiction.
Golden boy climbs to the top
For Australians of a certain vintage, Kim Hughes remains a household name.
Cricket fans around the world remember the right-handed attraction, which cut beautiful deck units to the limit, with its golden locks clearly visible under its wide green.
In 1978, at just 24 years old, he became one of the youngest captains in the test when he took on the role during a tumultuous time in Australian cricket.
His captaincy was challenged and saw him enter and leave the main job for periods of time, before leading the national team to the 1983 World Cup.
He was also constantly attacked from the ranks of the game and the media. His vice-captain David Hookes publicly defended a new captain after a disastrous World Cup.
The pressure was relentless and he sensationally left the role the following year, halfway through the second Test match against the West Indies in Brisbane.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. VIDEO: An emotional Kim Hughes does not deliver his resignation speech (ABC News)
“The constant speculation, criticism and innuendos of former players and sections of the media over the last 4-5 years have finally taken their toll,” he said at the time.
Wayne Clark, who played with Hughes in Western Australia and Australia, has no doubt that this time in his life he contributed to the drink.
Hughes’ friend Wayne Clark struggled to see his friend’s death. (ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck)
“All the things he went through, there were a lot of them. I think he had a lot to do with his drink,” Clark says.
“To be fair, I think he almost had a failure then, he just dealt with all of that, under the pressures he had.
“And in those days, there was no help.”
The circus stopped, but the drinks continued
Cropping an image of confidence on the cricket field, Hughes was popular with the public and the media, his image of “nice man” led him to build a career as a public speaker after ending his days of cricket. game.
He has been a mainstay on the Western Australia circuit for years, with his charismatic nature and the charm that loves him among the crowds who want to hear the stories of the only WA test captain.
Kim Hughes and Greg Chappell at the SCG in January 1980. (Supplied)
“He would be out there, party life,” Clark explains.
“But it was all about drinking. I think when he left [speaking engagements]I didn’t have much else.
“I think there was a bit of loneliness in that.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on, Hughes’s interventions came to a halt.
He fell further into the midst of his addiction, retired from his family, and isolated himself.
“I was just going through the moves. The corporate word dried up and things can get very, very lonely,” he says.
“What I was really struggling with was getting away from me, or my kids were getting away from me, or me from them, because I didn’t want to be around them smelling of alcohol.”
The more his commitments dried up, Hughes started drinking earlier. (ABC News: Cason Ho)
White wine was his favorite drink. The first glasses were poured into his apartment early in the morning, then he was driven to his favorite steamers.
“It was a car accident waiting to happen,” says his son Bradley.
“He could spend the rest of his life in prison.
“It was the right time to get help before something like this happened, and then it’s too late.”
Fear that Hughes would climb into prison or, worse, death, stimulated his family and friends into action.
Son Bradley Hughes knew his father was in trouble. (ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck)
“I was listening through Wayne and a few others that I wasn’t doing too well,” Bradley says.
“We talked about it and said, ‘That’s when something bad could happen.’
“‘Not good. Need help'”.
Pulling stumps
The day Bradley, Wayne and another friend Richard Menasse sat him down for an intervention at a Leederville cafe is markedly etched in Hughes ’mind.
Bradley Hughes and Wayne Clark lured Kim to a coffee shop for an intervention. (ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck)
“[Drinking] it had already cost me my marriage, ”Hughes admits.
“It was a real brutal honesty that I really needed to take the next step.
“Don’t tell us. Don’t talk about it. Do something.”
Fear that Hughes would head to jail or death spurred his family and friends into action. (ABC News: Armin Azad)
Menasse arranged a stay at a rehab center, where Hughes spent two weeks.
“We got him to accept that I had to go to rehab. I had to get away from things. I had to get out of society for a while,” Clark recalls.
When Hughes returned home, he was assigned a nurse who visited him weekly to offer advice and support.
“We would really get to the bottom of my background, psychologically, and all that stuff,” he says.
“He and I could talk. There was no one else.”
Hughes hasn’t drunk in 18 months, but it’s not the end of the battle.
“We found out Kim had a habit with alcohol. But it was a consequence of what I think was a depression we’re still managing,” Menasse says.
“He absolutely understands that every day is a new day. And he remembers it. That he has to do the right thing for himself.”
Hughes says he needed a “brutal honesty” from others to get help to drink. (ABC News: Armin Azad)
Walking along the shores of Scarborough Beach, Hughes recognizes how his journey might have gone.
“I could have ended up drunk on the street,” he says.
Hughes admits that his journey continues, with the temptation never far away. (ABC News: Armin Azad)
“‘Oh look, there’s a former Australian cricket captain. Look at him now.’
“I was a fool.”
Hughes has not touched alcohol since his stay in rehab, but his battle with addiction continues.
She now uses her commitments to speak in public to share her true story and raise awareness about mental health.
An avid golfer, he admits that temptation is never far away, especially on the green.
“It was a very hot day,” he says of a recent trip to the golf course.
“A colleague of mine was riding in the car and had a cold Crowny.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m going, I’d like to have one.’ I was a little tempted.”
In his youth, as an emerging cricket star, Hughes was impetuous. He would lose patience as he made an entrance and often threw his port.
Hughes now keeps a diary to document his thoughts as part of his recovery. (ABC News: Armn Azad)
Over the years, he developed his ability to stay focused while baptizing, a tactic he now uses in his recovery.
“If someone said you’re going to go a year without drinking, it’s too far away,” he says.
“I developed a strategy. A shitty container for shitty thoughts.”
He also carries a diary that he updates every Friday, documenting the weeks since his last drink.
“Inch by inch, it’s very easy. It’s not out of sight, it’s just out of reach,” Hughes says with a smile. It is his favorite motto.
These days, Hughes has firmly returned to the lives of his children and grandchildren. (ABC News: Armin Azad)
His son Bradley is happy for his father to return to his life and that of his children.
“He’s a lot healthier. He has a lot more energy. And we see him a lot more, obviously,” Bradley reflects.
Hughes is grateful for the help he received from his family and friends. (ABC News: Armind Azad)
“He’s very involved with the kids and their sport and everything, which is fantastic.”
Hughes knows that second chances don’t show up so often, and is determined not to launch his portal again.
“I’ll never go back to how it was before,” he says.
Credits
Words: Tom Wildie
Photographs: Armin Azad, Cason Ho, Robert Koenig-Luck
Production: Fran Rimrod