Matthew Hayden vs Mike Hussey

[Andy Mellon]

Just wondering if any Aussie fans would prefer to see Mike Hussey in the Aussie line up rather than Matty Hayden.

Hayden's looking seriously out of form, and although he may be due a score, why not give Hussey a try. In the ODIs, he looked by far the best bat on show, and at times, England really struggled to find a hole in his defence. He averages 129 in ODIs, and 52.27 in first class cricket.

Anyone else think he deserves a shot at the big time?

[Rachael]

As a neutral I certainly would: Hayden looks like a bit of a fraud, really - a flat track bully whose height and stance (considerably infront of the crease) have allowed him (at least against the fairly modest attacks he's generally faced) to disguise the fact that he's really just a foot front brute with too much power for his own good.

[cantplaycantalk]

Nice to see England are giving the Aussies some selection problems isn't it.

[Seamer]

Australia will not change the batting order during this series. After though, changes will start as we have a relitively easy run for the next 18 months which will give us time to rebuild, while keeping a strong hold on theno1 position.

As for Hayden, well he has been getting starts while not going on with it. The same can be said for all the Aussie bats i suppose. It would be more concerning if he was consistantly failing altogether but the fact he is getting a start means his form is not too much of a worry. Like the rest of the rest of the Aussie bats, the big ones are not far off.
I think England have the problem with failing batsmen, not Australia, which is why English are starting threads like this and not Aussies. We do have problems with Gillespie/Kasprowicz, but the batting will take care of itself for the remainder of this tour.

[The Phantom Ram]

Seamer, it's a pity a few more of your batsmen weren't as defensive as your post!!

[King Aragorn]

Hussey should surely be brought in for the fourth test if Hayden fails yet again at Old Trafford.

Hayden did look in good touch in the second innings at Edgbaston and if he plays a big innings at Old Trafford, well and good. But he has been the weak link in Aussie batting of late. Every other batsman has got regular good starts while Hayden's average is not only worse than that of every Australian batsman but it's even lower than that of Shane Warne and Brett Lee!

Hussey has done superbly well in the domestic circuit and he played some wonderful knocks under tremendous pressure in the recent ODIs. He's surely capable of dealing with the situation if thrown into the ring for the fourth test. He might not set the world on fire, but he'll most probably do better than Hayden.

[anthman]

Originally Posted by King Aragorn

Hussey should surely be brought in for the fourth test if Hayden fails yet again at Old Trafford.

I agree. Dropping Hayden is one of my favourite hobby horses. They've been saying for 18 months he would play himself into form. Well he hasn't, so get rid of him cause right now he's holding Langer back.

I don't care if they bring in Hussey, or they re-jig the line up so that Clarke or Gilly opens, but right now Hayden is a liability that we can't afford (and I don't care how good his catching is).

Unfortunately Australia is completely reactive when it comes to selection issues so I can't see if happening unless we lose the series.

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Ram

Seamer, it's a pity a few more of your batsmen weren't as defensive as your post!!

Well it is a good thing that the Aussie batsmen and selectors are'nt as prone to panic-mongering as the rest of the posters in this thread

[anthman]

Our entire batting style is built around the Langer-Hayden partnership working and getting us off to that flying 100 run start. But it's not working any more, and hasn't for a while now. Something's gotta give, and I would prefer that it wasn't the Ashes thanks.

[Seamer]

No need to panic and start with the knee-jerk reactions. Now is the WORST time you could make changes. Look at England and how they reacted after a thrashing at Lord's. They (sensibly) did'nt panic and kept an unchanged team and subsequently won the next test.
Remember Martyn's long form slump? Look at him now. Clarke scoring 127 runs in 7 tests? Hit a crucial 91 at Lords and ended his form slump.
The Aussie batsmen, management and selectors will not panic however, and that is all that matters in the end.