On Mike Hussey...

[Richard]

I think it is his signature shot, but I get what Brumby means, however good it is, it hasn't got the "wow" factor that Ponting's and KP's have.

It depends what you mean. I suppose it's not quite as impressive as a one-off than Ponting's (never really thought KP's off-side play invites much out-of-the-ordinary TBH) but I reckon he makes far fewer errors playing it than Ponting or anyone else.

 

[Top_Cat]

It depends what you mean. I suppose it's not quite as impressive as a one-off than Ponting's (never really thought KP's off-side play invites much out-of-the-ordinary TBH) but I reckon he makes far fewer errors playing it than Ponting or anyone else.

It's a much safer shot for lefties, though. Just play through the line of the ball, don't try to hit it too hard and you'll nail it. Most lefties play the cover drive well for that reason and even when out of form, you'd generally back lefties to still play the cover drive well.

Pull shots and stuff like Lara's hip flick require an enormous amount of skill and that's why people take them as indicators of how well those guys are hitting the ball. They're, I think, much more difficult to pull off and if Lara played one early in his innings, you knew you were in for a bad day.....

 

[Richard]

It's a much safer shot for lefties, though. Just play through the line of the ball, don't try to hit it too hard and you'll nail it. Most lefties play the cover drive well for that reason and even when out of form, you'd generally back lefties to still play the cover drive well.

Well yeah... on the presumption that the bowler is an over-the-wicket right-armer who's not getting that much swing, that is.

If a good right-armer can bowl around-the-wicket and swing it away, or a left-armer can do likewise, then it's no safer than a right-hander playing it really.

But yes, obviously it's much more dangerous for a standard right-hander's face-up of right-arm over-the-wicket outswing.

I also reckon Hussey makes fewer errors playing it than pretty well any other leftie I've seen too, incidentally. Including the likes of Saeed Anwar and Gary Kirsten, both of whom hit cover-drives for fun and rarely got it wrong (except that brief Kirsten phase where he dragged-on loads around 1998, 1999 sort of time).

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Discussed this a bit in the official thread.

I think the two main factors are the aesthetics element and the age one. Personally I find Hussey a wonderful batsmen to watch, his shot selection is absolutely amazing at times. As I said in the other thread, you can watch the guy leave five deliveries outside off stump and choose to play at the sixth, and he'll hit it perfectly through the gap. He so rarely makes a poor choice of what delivery to play, or plays at a delivery from a poor position or really does anything else wrong that it's actually shocking when he does.

So while that might appeal to the purist viewer, he doesn't exactly go out and dominate attacks like a Ponting or a Tendulkar or whoever. Even Kallis, who is also fairly stoic, has a wider range of shots and when set, will play aggressively at a larger number of deliveries. Hussey, unless runs are needed quickly, is perfectly content to wait as long as it takes for the right ball and then put it away. He obviously has a big "extra gear" he can use if necessary, but that's not his normal play.

The age element also comes into it, especially for your more discerning cricket viewer who isn't turned off by the way he bats. There is something vaguely surreal about Hussey's success, like Richard implied, and it's hard to really follow in some respects. Obviously most of us expected the guy to be a success in test cricket when he arrived in the team. He'd been arguably the best ODI batsman in the world in the past year or so before that, freakishly prolific, and had years of FC experience. Nevertheless, what Hussey's done up to this point is not simply a good start. Nobody has ever played so many matches and maintained such an average except for Bradman, and the longer he keeps it up, the less of an anomaly it seems.

To keep it in perspective though, Hussey's record in the time he has played isn't that far ahead of the pack. Guys like Sangakkara, Chanderpaul, Ponting and Kallis would have similar averages over the period, and in fact someone like Ponting has averaged in the high 60s for more than five years now, so of course, Hussey's success isn't unique in the modern game. What is unique is that he took no time to settle in and there have been no blemishes. It's as though you took Ponting and removed his entire career from '96 to '01 or so, and just left the period where he's been dominating attacks all over the world. If you did that, you'd have a guy with well over 5,000 test runs and an average of almost 70, and probably have almost universal agreement that he's the best batsman since Bradman.

What holds Ponting back is that it's viewed as a "purple patch". With Hussey it can't be, but because he made his debut at 30ish, people tend to artificially add that "learning phase" in and bring him back to a more normal level.

 

[howardj]

It's getting ridiculous waiting for this Hussey bubble to burst.

From all indications, it never will...

 

[pup11]

He's a brilliant Test batter, Hussey is just so reliable, that I always feel relaxed when he's at the crease.

I don't want to start saying he's the World's best cause I really don't want to jinx him!

Regarding ODIs - I don't think his skills reflect his superior ODI average, he's had a great number of not outs, played some terrific knocks though.

World Cup flop too

I think Hussey in one of those players who may not be as gifted as a Ponting, or a Tendulkar or a Lara in terms of strokeplay or flair and that for me is the biggest reason why he is not discussed among the best players in the world, but Hussey's biggest strength is his mental toughness, nothing fazes this guy he just goes on playing his own game and concentrating on what he does, you would never see Hussey throw away his wicket playing a rash shot and he has this ability to stick around and find a way to score runs one way or the another.

I think its Hussey's adaptability and his ability to make most out his natural talent that makes him such a good player, so he can seamlessly transform himself from being a gritty test batsmen, to an ODI finisher or a T20 tonker.


I think the kind of powers of concentration Hussey displays sets him apart from every other cricketer of his generation, he is the best player for me without a shred of a doubt.

P.S: I won't really call Hussey a world cup flop, he just didn't get many opportunities in the world cup, did he..., it was Hayden, Ponting and Clarke who were making all the runs in the world cup, and on a lot of occasions Hussey even didn't get to bat, and when he did he didn't had too many overs to play around with, so personally i won't call Hussey a world cup flop, had he let the team down when they really needed a good knock from him then maybe i would have agreed with you on this.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Needed to start off in test cricket much earlier to tell the truth.
The mere fact that the vast majority of fans aren't dedicating shrines to him yet despite those averages would seem to support that line of thinking.

 

[Migara]

I had been very sceptical about his play on slow tracks. But he cleared that doubts too. If he makes another 100 on a typical Indian dust-bowl, and plays well on Lankan pitches I would call him the best in the current era.

 

[Prince EWS]

Hussey's overall stats are awesome and his quality is indeniable, but despite the fact that he seems like he's been on the Test scene for a while now, he only made his debut in late 2005 - less than three years ago.

What's interesting is that while he has very quickly put his stamp on the game as one of the best in the world, others have matches his performances during the timeframe of them.

Since Hussey made his debut in Test cricket, he has amassed a Test average of 70.6. This is obviously phenomenal, but during that time Ponting has recored an average of 70.32, Sangakkara has managed 68.15 and Mohammad Yousuf actual betters the Huss with an amazing 2498 runs at 78.05.

Highest Test Averages Since Hussey's Debut
Yousuf - 2498 runs @ 78.06
Hussey - 2471 runs @ 70.60
Ponting - 2813 runs @ 70.30
Sangakkara - 2658 runs @ 68.15
Jayawardene - 2706 runs @ 64.42
McKenzie - 960 runs @ 64.00
Younis - 2051 runs @ 56.97
Clarke - 1175 runs @ 55.95
Chanderpaul - 1932 runs @ 55.20
Hayden - 2015 runs @ 54.45
Kallis - 2341 runs @ 50.89
Pietersen - 3417 runs @ 50.25

Whilst this still puts Hussey right up near the top, it does show that his figures haven't been quite as hard to achieve during this time frame as they might suggest.

When you consider that the likes of Ponting and Sangakkara have been playing for a lot longer and have a lot more to their resumes than the last three years or so, it more than makes up for the small difference in averages he has maintained ahead of them during this time, IMO.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to take anything away from Hussey and I think he'll go down as a great of the game when he retires, but to call him the best in the world is just a little much at this stage when you look at what those established ahead of him have done since his debut. Granted though, he should probably feature in discussions more often than he does - I imagine that will change fairly soon though.

 

[duffer]

It's getting ridiculous waiting for this Hussey bubble to burst.

From all indications, it never will...

I've stopped expecting it to and just started to enjoy watching him bat.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Hussey sacrifices "aesthetics" for runs. Get the feeling that if he wanted to, he'd straight bat you Kallis style, but his open face and busy feet mean that he's able to rotate the strike at will. That's what makes him so hard to bowl to - you hardly get 6 balls in a row at him.

Safest place to bat is at the other end.

 

[Top_Cat]

Hussey sacrifices "aesthetics" for runs. Get the feeling that if he wanted to, he'd straight bat you Kallis style, but his open face and busy feet mean that he's able to rotate the strike at will. That's what makes him so hard to bowl to - you hardly get 6 balls in a row at him.

Safest place to bat is at the other end.

Pretty much describe the difference between Huss now and Huss 10 years ago.

 

[Uppercut]

Highest Test Averages Since Hussey's Debut
Yousuf - 2498 runs @ 78.06
Hussey - 2471 runs @ 70.60
Ponting - 2813 runs @ 70.30
Sangakkara - 2658 runs @ 68.15
Jayawardene - 2706 runs @ 64.42
McKenzie - 960 runs @ 64.00
Younis - 2051 runs @ 56.97
Clarke - 1175 runs @ 55.95
Chanderpaul - 1932 runs @ 55.20
Hayden - 2015 runs @ 54.45
Kallis - 2341 runs @ 50.89
Pietersen - 3417 runs @ 50.25

Whilst this still puts Hussey right up near the top, it does show that his figures haven't been quite as hard to achieve during this time frame as they might suggest.

When you consider that the likes of Ponting and Sangakkara have been playing for a lot longer and have a lot more to their resumes than the last three years or so, it more than makes up for the small difference in averages he has maintained ahead of them during this time, IMO.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to take anything away from Hussey and I think he'll go down as a great of the game when he retires, but to call him the best in the world is just a little much at this stage when you look at what those established ahead of him have done since his debut. Granted though, he should probably feature in discussions more often than he does - I imagine that will change fairly soon though.

Interesting to note the lack of any Indians in the list. For all the talk of the "fab four" and their recent decline, not one has been in the top ten batsmen statistically for three years now. With a minimum qualification of 1000 runs, the first Indian is Sehwag in 13th with 48.11. The first of the "fab four" is Ganguly in 18th place. Tendulkar languishes behind such players as Kamran Akmal, Ian Bell and Hashim Amla.

 

[Richard]

Hussey sacrifices "aesthetics" for runs. Get the feeling that if he wanted to, he'd straight bat you Kallis style, but his open face and busy feet mean that he's able to rotate the strike at will. That's what makes him so hard to bowl to - you hardly get 6 balls in a row at him.

Safest place to bat is at the other end.

That's a double-edged sword mind. Looking to play with an open\closed face and nudge the ball into gaps means if the ball is moving a bit you're more likely to thin-edge than thick-edge, which is obviously more likely to get you out. Equally if it's moving a lot you're more likely to miss which is once again an advantage.

It's a potential huge advantage, but only if used in the right circumstances.

 

[Top_Cat]

That's a double-edged sword mind. Looking to play with an open\closed face and nudge the ball into gaps means if the ball is moving a bit you're more likely to thin-edge than thick-edge, which is obviously more likely to get you out. Equally if it's moving a lot you're more likely to miss which is once again an advantage.

It's a potential huge advantage, but only if used in the right circumstances.

Frankly, though, I've been predicting for ages he'd get in trouble playing that way and it hasn't eventuated. So I've given up! "He's gotta start nicking the ball eventually." I remember saying. Gun prediction there.

 

[Richard]

Maybe a) Hussey just hasn't faced much high-quality seam and swing yet or b) he's capable of adjusting when he does and playing with a straighter bat.

 

[Top_Cat]

Maybe a) Hussey just hasn't faced much high-quality seam and swing yet or b) he's capable of adjusting when he does and playing with a straighter bat.

More b) than a) for mine. As Jack alluded to, he was a very straight player early doors and when he wants to, presents the maker's name. I always figured it was a form thing, that as soon as his form went, his technique would start to falter. Well, he's been playing Test cricket for around 3 years now and he's slowed down not really at all. Certainly it's gone on too long to attribute to Hussey merely hitting the ball like a million $. I guess he's finally the real deal. Although, as pointed out by PEWS, he's in the top few batsmen for the last few years, not far-and-away the best. It's been good run-scoring times for Kallis, Yousuf, Ponting, etc.

 

[Ikki]

Hussey is just cashing in on flat-tracks and poor bowlers. Nasser Hussain > Mike Hussey.

 

[GIMH]

Come on, you're better than that.

 

[fredfertang]

Based on overall first class figures he's not even the best batsman in his own family