Hughes’ physical presence (a burly 6’4″), handlebar moustache, a penchant for exuberant displays of affection for his fellow players, along with a tendency to talk to the opposition in inventively colourful language (his nickname was “Fruitfly” – a somewhat incongruous nickname until Allan Border explained it was a reference to “Australia’s greatest national pest”) and a (some would say) “mincing” run-up (that at times stretched to 45 paces), made him a firm favorite amongst supporters, who would often imitate his warm-up stretches behind him en masse. In England, on his second Ashes tour in 1993, the crowd often chanted “Sumo” when he ran in to bowl.

Hughes played his last Test in Cape Town against South Africa in 1994.

Hughes replaced Allan Border in June 2005 as a selector for the Australian cricket team, although his performance as a selector came under much scrutiny after many controversial decisions and the loss of the number-one ranking in Test matches after the 2009 Ashes series. However, Australia would go on to have a successful 2009–10 summer, finishing undefeated in all three forms of the game. Hughes though, was later dropped as a selector for the Australian cricket team and subsequently replaced by Greg Chappell on 29 October 2010.

Hughes is noted for his large moustache. Described by Cricinfo as being “of incredible proportions”, the moustache became sufficiently synonymous with Hughes for him to be rumored to insure it for £200,000. In a 2013 Sky Sports interview during the 2013 Ashes series, he quashed this rumour as being false.

In 2015, Hughes appeared on the Australian version of the TV show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!.