Michael Hussey

His nickname is ‘Mr. Cricket’, and this, more than anything else, illustrates his prowess on the field. Michael Hussey, a left handed opening batsman of the Australian team who has a way of playing his game like Bradman did in his time,can be called the new man on the block. His story is not the usual rags to riches tale that is told by every rising star. He had always been a dedicated player to cricket who wished to be in the International side someday. But while the 3 titans of Australia, i.e. Langer, Ponting and Hayden were dominating the game, Hussey’s chances of making it were getting slimmer. Then as an act of fate, due to an injury to Justin Langer, he was picked for the side and finally debuted at the age of 29 against India in 2004 at Perth, which by all standards was a pretty late debut with regards to his age. Add to this the fact that by the time he got to play for his country, he had already scored 15313 first class runs playing for county teams such as Durham, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire. A record for an Australian before wearing the coveted baggy green.

Michael is a very well suited opening batsman for his team, largely because of his style. :Like every lefty, he has his own sense of class and has a tidy, compact style. He is also scrupulous at practice. Skilled both of his front foot and back, he can compromise with almost every bowl that comes to him and makes most of it. All these features of his, makes his game worth watching once he is at his best.

No one can question the skills of Mike Hussey. He has an average of approximately 66 in the ODIs and quite surprisingly, an average of 80 in the test matches which by far is something that has not been seen for a long time. His strike rate is an impressive 91.33 in the ODIs and has scored over 3300 runs in both forms of the game combined in as little as 77 matches. It was only after 29 innings that his average dropped below 100 in the shorter version of the game. A feat that could may have been performed only by the Don himself.

Some of his memorable innings include the one in which he scored 122 in the second test against South Africa putting on a 107 run last wicket partnership with Glenn McGrath. He also owns the mark for the fastest player to 1000 Test runs after taking only 166 days to achieve this feat. Hussey or also ‘Huss’ might have come to the spotlight a little late with his hay days being spent in the domestic level, but he has made up for whatever he might have lost in these years with quick runs and in no time. Along with being an agile fielder and a calm middle order batsman with skillful stroke playing abilities, he has even worn the skipper’s cap during the Chappel-Hadlee series against New Zealand. All this makes him indispensable for the Australian team. He is therefore well suited for the ‘One Day International Player of the Year’ award that he received for the year 2006.

His calm outlook, strong team qualities and ability to perform outstandingly in any situation be it at the opening slot or at the death has given him the status of a titan in the cricketing world. He is yet to show the world what he is truly capable of and will definitely get the chance to do so in the upcoming World Cup. While selectors have already sparked debates about his future leadership possibilities. He is happy playing his game for now. All-in-all, he proves to be a very promising player for the Australian cricket team, one who will be the shape of things to come for Australia.