Michael Hussey

A late bloomer to international cricket, Mike Hussey was one of the pillars of Australia's batting during their transition phase post Waugh era. Although not as attractive as left-handed batsmen generally are, Hussey's batting was a sight to behold, determination and mental strength combining beautifully with tremendous fighting spirit. Amidst all this, he did have a few signature strokes too which were a visual treat. Like his cover drive or pull/cut strokes which he dished out with utter disdain. While his batting template was destined to work for limited-overs cricket, it's his Test achievements that defined Hussey as the batsman more through his career. In ODIs, he was definitely the rightful successor to Michael Bevan as far as Australian cricket is concerned in terms of controlling the back end of the innings and at times, even the early crisis.

For all that Hussey achieved, his career almost never took off at one stage. He was racking up the runs in the domestic circuit and it was only after a slog of over 10 years that he managed to get a national call-up. The fact that Australia's batting stocks were very rich didn't help either and was a reason for his delayed initiation to international cricket. However, there was merit in debuting late and Hussey's success can be attributed to that fact. He had a wealth of experience by the time he represented Australia and was extremely sure of his game, something that young players struggle with early on in their careers. Hussey as a person was calmness personified but his entry to international cricket was anything but that. He stormed the arena in 2004, often difficult to dislodge even in the aggressive ODI format and that success rubbed off in Tests as well.

Hussey's concentration levels were one of his biggest strengths, it was almost impossible to distract him once he got set and inevitably, he notched up big scores. A fine accumulator with a proactive mindset, he knew exactly when to rein himself in and when to go on the offensive. After a nearly flawless 3-4 years, there was a dip which was only expected, given the phenomenal levels that he had been operating at till then. The 2008-09 season was difficult but he came back a stronger batsman, ironing out the flaws that were haunting. There was also a talk regarding whether he would be able to adapt to the newest format - T20 but all that changed in 2010 and how! In a crunch game, World T20 semifinal, Hussey nonchalantly blasted Saeed Ajmal for 18 in the last over to take Australia into the finals for the first time ever. A resounding statement had been made by 'Mr.Cricket.'

It seemed like Hussey was reinventing himself for a final dash of glory but that never came as he announced his retirement suddenly in late 2012. It definitely came as a shock to the cricketing fraternity. It was around the same time that Australia also lost Ricky Ponting and the twin blows did hurt Australia a lot. Hussey continued to be active in franchise T20 leagues having notable success in the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings and in the BBL where he signed off by leading the Sydney Thunder to a title win. That was Hussey's final year in any form of the game and he has worked as a TV commentator after his international retirement apart from also being a batting consultant. Very few players could pace the innings as well as Hussey could, be it in Tests or limited-overs cricket and it's his immaculate brain that gave him the nickname 'Mr.Cricket'.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan