Hussey's legacy

[Red]

Mike Hussey often slips under the radar when the great batsmen are discussed, and I think it's because he goes about his business with minimal fuss, most of the time doing exactly what the team requires at any point in time. Hussey is one of the most technically correct, easy to watch batsmen of the modern era. His cover drive is a thing of beauty, his pull shot is powerful and effective, he can hit out when needed, and his running between wickets and ability to turn the strike over is as good as anyone who has ever played the game. He is also a great team man, with a relaxed demeanour and the right "attitude" towards the game. I'm not an advocate for all sportsmen being labelled "role-models" for young people, but if you were to pick a cricketer from any part of the world, from any era, to be a "role-model" for kids, you'd be hard pressed to find a better choice than Huss.

No batsman to have played for Australia, other than Allan Border, has ever filled me with as much confidence as Hussey. In a dire situation (batting collapse), the sight of Hussey coming out to the wicket gives me significant hope. This is why I like him at number six. His presence is steadying, and he is a big partnership player. Partnerships win matches, along with catches. Recently he has been in significant partnerships with Clarke, and Wade, which have put Australia in strong positions in test matches.

Hussey has now played 75 tests and has an average of 50. In addition to his test career, he is as good a one-day batsman as anyone else in the modern era, perhaps all time.

I could go on and on about Hussey. But really, the question I want to pose is "how will Hussey be remembered?" If you are in to ranking players, where does he sit for Australia, in the modern era, and in history?

 

[centurymaker]

I agree with everything you have said. When he's at the crease, he does fill you with a lot of confidence.

overall in the modern era, I have him in 4th position.

edit- for australia*

 

[wpdavid]

Mike Hussey often slips under the radar when the great batsmen are discussed, and I think it's because he goes about his business with minimal fuss, most of the time doing exactly what the team requires at any point in time. Hussey is one of the most technically correct, easy to watch batsmen of the modern era. His cover drive is a thing of beauty, his pull shot is powerful and effective, he can hit out when needed, and his running between wickets and ability to turn the strike over is as good as anyone who has ever played the game. He is also a great team man, with a relaxed demeanour and the right "attitude" towards the game. I'm not an advocate for all sportsmen being labelled "role-models" for young people, but if you were to pick a cricketer from any part of the world, from any era, to be a "role-model" for kids, you'd be hard pressed to find a better choice than Huss.

No batsman to have played for Australia, other than Allan Border, has ever filled me with as much confidence as Hussey. In a dire situation (batting collapse), the sight of Hussey coming out to the wicket gives me significant hope. This is why I like him at number six. His presence is steadying, and he is a bit partnership player. Partnerships win matches, along with catches. Recently he has been in significant partnerships with Clarke, and Wade, which have put Australia in strong positions in test matches.

Hussey has now played 75 tests and has an average of 50. In addition to his test career, he is as good a one-day batsman as anyone else in the modern era, perhaps all time.

I could go on and on about Hussey. But really, the question I want to pose is "how will Hussey be remembered?" If you are in to ranking players, where does he sit for Australia, in the modern era, and in history?

Despite everything he has achieved, I suspect it will depend on how the next two Ashes series go. Partly, and through not much fault of his own, his reputation has been tarnished by being part of the side that hasn't been a patch on what preceded it. That is completely unfair of course - if anything his performances have been even more impressive given the lack of support around him, especially in the 2010/11 series - but success adds its own lustre to players, and failure does the opposite. If he plays on for another 13 months and contributes to two series that go well for Australia, then he'll probably be remembered as a great player rather than a very good one.

 

[robelinda]

Love Huss, but hate to say it, home track bully.

 

[AlanJLegend]

Huss is definitely an Australian modern ATG for me, just below the tier of Ponting, Clarke by the time he finishes, S Waugh, Border etc. It is a shame he didn't start 10 years earlier as he could easily be amongst these people.

I hope the next 12 months (and potentially beyond) are proliffic for Huss to really cement his legacy. OP basically covered it all, but I think in future the statistics really won't reflect how amazing this man really was. It's a shame he went through such a massive form slump, otherwise he would be averaging high-50s at least.

 

[Justo]

Love Huss, but hate to say it, home track bully.

Pretty much this for me. Happy to be proven wrong over however long he's got left though.

 

[DriveClub]

Not the same player outside AUS

 

[Andre]

As harsh as it sounds, agree with the boys above - home track bully.

I have no doubt that he's a very good player, but he makes a lot of soft runs. He's played 75 Tests and bats at 6 in a side that struggles to get runs out of its top 4.

Comes across as a team man but my impression is that he is a deceptively selfish cricketer. Think his reputation proceeds him, he hasn't made runs under real pressure for a good few years now IMO.

That said he's a very good cricketer - but no where near an all time great for me, and his numbers don't fully reflect him as a player I don't feel.

 

[Red]

Comes across as a team man but my impression is that he is a deceptively selfish cricketer. .

This doesn't make sense to me. Can you elaborate.

 

[Andre]

This doesn't make sense to me. Can you elaborate.

Just a feeling I have more than anything. I reckon Hussey is out for Hussey more than a lot of people think. Combination of his referrals (some of the worst I've ever seen, and often doesn't consult his partner), his running between the wickets (especially early in his innings his focus is to get to the other end, often to the detriment of his partner) and where he comes in in the batting order. Just a personal opinion, I don't expect everyone to agree, but I don't have the respect for him that I do of a lot of our greats.

 

[NUFAN]

To the detriment of his partner, how so? What's wrong with rotating the strike and no one ever runs as hard as Huss does at the non strikers end.

 

[Andre]

To the detriment of his partner, how so? What's wrong with rotating the strike and no one ever runs as hard as Huss does at the non strikers end.

Saw a classic example in Perth of him BBQ'ing Wade in the first innings in Perth, and another few examples yesterday. Often leaves his partner high and dry early in his innings, it's pretty lucky he hasn't been involved in more run outs.

 

[Mike5181]

Do people rate him above Damien Martyn and Mark Waugh?

 

[centurymaker]

i suppose most people do, including myself.

 

[Tangles]

Martyn was vastly overrated so definitely above him. On par with Mark Waugh although Mark was better to watch IMO.

 

[Khaseer]

Do people rate him above Damien Martyn and Mark Waugh?

definitely

 

[Red]

Do people rate him above Damien Martyn and Mark Waugh?

I'm not Martyn's biggest fan, but I might be M.Waugh's.

Rate M.Waugh pretty highly.

 

[Furball]

Saw a classic example in Perth of him BBQ'ing Wade in the first innings in Perth, and another few examples yesterday. Often leaves his partner high and dry early in his innings, it's pretty lucky he hasn't been involved in more run outs.

Disagree, Hussey's an exceptional judge of a run.

It's one of the things that makes him (IMO) the perfect limited overs player.

 

[Flem274*]

Hussey's problem will be he averaged 50 in an era where 6 or so teams have 2-3 guys averaging 50.

England and NZ the only top 8 sides that spring to mind who have lacked a bloke averaging the big five-zero for a big portion of Hussey's career, and even then KP and Cook averaged just below it for most of that time.

So the future CWers will look at how Hussey's record stacks up against his contemporaries, see he sucks away from home and bats six and won't rank him as highly as some of the other guys playing today.

 

[Satyanash89]

Australia's answer to VVS when it comes to saving the team from dire situations.
Unfortunately, he has been a bit if an HTB. Needs atleast one really big series in SA/Eng if he wants to be rated right up there