equatorFirst 18 tests, averaged 86.
Next 19 tests, averaged 34.
Do 18 tests prove you are a test player, or can you just have a good run before people work you out?
Did Hussey ever have the class?
Is he in a slump?
One of those cricket myths you always here about is how Michael Hussey was knocking on the door of the Australian team for 10 years.
It’s complete horseshit.
In 00/01 he averaged 30.25 for WA.
For 01/02 he jumped that up to 34.50.
Not to forget 02/03 where he averaged 38.12.
Finally he broke the shackles and moved all the way to 41.81.
Every winter he would trot off to England and murder county attacks, like Cameron White did.
He wasn’t knocking on too many doors at this stage in his career.
At this stage he was struggling to keep his position in the blue chip Western Australian line up.
Now he is back in a funk, and for some reason he is being protected.
Why?
Sure he had a brilliant 18 tests, and they happened to be his first 18.
But since then he has been ordinary.
Matthew Hayden had 6 years on top of the world, that gets you leeway with the selectors.
18 tests can be easily played in 18 months these days, surely that shouldn’t buy you as much.
Hussey’s slump is now longer than his golden run.
Fuck the mathematics, something has to give.
Pick Ferguson as a back up, pick his brother as a replacement, but i called for someone to be picked in Australia, and still nothing has been done.
Can any team carry a batsman for 5 tests based on a golden run that ended in 2007?
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Maybe he has Michael Vaughan / Steve Harmison disease. Work their way to the top showing considerable talent and then fade away, seemingly forever. There is no doubt his 86 average is damned impressive but 34 is Ian Bell standard!
But does he look a million dollars in the nets, Rob?
Dave, according to foxsports he looks like a Viv in the nets, so yes, i’d say he does.
Far be it for a Kiwi to enter into the abuse of prolific run pillaging Australian middle order batsman, but shit he was a good captain too – just wonderful.
He is clearly crap as he didn’t even make the poster for his beloved Chennai Super Kings:
http://www.beigebrigade.co.nz/blog/?p=504
September 1st 2008 Mike Hussey said this:
“To be honest I feel like my batting’s been a real battle for two years”
“I’ve just been sort of hanging in there and grinding away and it feels like every innings has been a real vigil and it didn’t feel like I could play a lot of shots with a lot of power or conviction.”
And then the real kicker:
“It’s just a case of trying to tweak my second movement just marginally to get into better positions …”
At around the phrase ‘tweak my second movement’ the selectors should have woken from their drunken stupour and dumped him right there, if only to save him from himself.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, no bowler would ever be given such leeway with a comparable 18 test record like that. The guy is done, has been since returning from India
This is one issue with guys debuting in their 30s – any form slump and there is that much more pressure on you. You don’t have luxury of comebacks or 2-3 years of revival period.
2 yrs ago he was the second greatest test batsman of all time. No?
Now he’s struggling to make the best 6 currently playing in australia.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
The strength of the aussie team had been their rock solid attacking line-up and a bench strength that cud make into any country’s playing xi. As u mentioned the guys have had such a illustrious past, that the management wonder wen to kick them. and the guys on the bench don’t hv a clue how to make it to the field. Hussey has a got battle with time now, I am sure he does’nt have much of it left. So, he’ll have to get a few(few = more than one rare innings) knocks under his belt soon!
@ The Holden : he dint make it to the posters! right!! but, the knock he played against kings xi Punjab was enuf ! I am sure the team management are least bothered about the who shud be on the posters n commercials for now!
i have thoroughly enjoyed the drop in his average. others take 10-15 years to avg 50+ per bat and this kid just walks in and thinks he is bradman?! i think it was the mr.cricket moniker where things went pear shaped.
When Hussey was in peak , hayden and gilchrist opening and give solid partnership , it makes everyone following play like bradman.
Hussey played with freedom when he first played with the team. now no one to protect him , pressure got to him. When you are under pressure , opposition can target you easy.
It is like this , when sehwag score big , indian middle order play veryw ell. When sehwag fails , they mosly collapse like 9 pins.
For me hussey has never had a class. Ponting is the da best because he played very well when under pressure when team needed him which we can’t say much about choker tendulkar. Also ponting main enemy is Ishant sharma. As long as ponting do not play india or ishant sharma injured , ponting can beat all sachin records.
Jimmy Adams anyone?
Ponting WILL beat all Sachin’s records even if a thousand Ishants bowl at him in every match he plays. He is destiny’s child.
@raj – ponting will break all of sachin’s records?! don’t think so. 42 + 43 = fucked punter.
and even if he did, who cares? someone will break his. just accept that one of the greatest batsman in cricket history is an indian. the second one is a west indian. technically, sachin is a west-indian as well. hmmm..
Sunny, I have no problems accepting that Ponting is not in the same class as Sachin-Lara. But all the same, Ponting will end up with all career batting individual records, and perhaps the captaincy records as well – which basically means that the Oz Media machine will work hard to keep propogating the myth that Ponting is the second best batsman ever and that Sachin and Lara were mere upstarts against him. To some extent, they will repeat this lie a million times that many gullible souls in the future will actually believe this. pity them.