How Good is Michael Hussey?

[Quagmire]

So bowlers like Bond, Pollock, Vaas, Donald, Ntini, Walsh, Shoaib Aktar, Akram, Ambrose and Weary Younis where not good opening bowlers because Hayden has played and beaten them all. Plus spinners like Muralitharan, Kumble, Vettori and Singh. Hayden and Langer are one of the greatest opening partnerships in the history of the game second only to Greenidge and Haynes. Boycott is not in the same class as Hayden, I just think your still sore from his 153 at the MCG. He did smash around Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff and Panesar who obviously must be no good if a flat track bully can smash them around the ground all day and Symond’s also making 156 who also in your opinion is not a good cricketer. Please don’t blame the pitch because it did have Australia 5-84 and England got rolled for 159 in the first innings at 161 in the second innings. Hayden and Symonds almost out scored both Englands innings combined, that pritty much sums up England's tour. I find this quite amusing

Ern I think that had something to do with England bowling poor than the pitches. He has excelled on green lump tracks before.

[Rachael]

Um.. Hayden's debut was against Donald... and he scored 15 and 5. He then faced a full strength WI attack at Mebourne and posted 5 and 0. Curtly Ambrose then missed out with a groin strain on an Adelaide pitch so awful for seamers that Bevan was bowling by lunch on the first day and Hayden did his flat track bully bit:

A fired-up, zealous Ambrose incites the West Indies to break down doors; when he is jaded or absent their challenge dribbles away into the gutter [...] Matthew Hayden was rarely obliged to play much of the detritus sent down in the first hour, which partly explains why he was stuck on his overnight score for the best part of it. During that time he also smashed one of a spate of no balls from Ian Bishop straight into point's hands, and, shortly afterwards would have been caught at slip off Courtney Walsh if only Junior Murray had not suddenly decided to fly across and tip it round the post [...] Hayden, powered by determination rather than rare talent, reached a maiden Test century - in six hours - with a square cut to the fence. The son of a peanut farmer, he is not yet the full packet but his shell is mighty tough.

For the next match "Courtney Walsh and Ambrose had barely one good leg between them" but in the first innings Ambrose managed "a cutter in his opening over" which "Hayden, with legs like pillars, edged to slip". The second innings saw Ambrose hobble off after only four overs, "obliging Walsh to plough a furrow from one end, or rather aim at one" - Hayden "hinted at permanence".

He did then head to SA to face Donald and Pollock again.. but racked up 64 runs in 5 innings at an astonishing... 12.8!

I can't be bothered to go through his whole career on a match by match basis... but in 2000/01 (7 years after his debut) he faced the WI again and averaged... 29.5. In the 2001 Ashes he musterd an average of 33.42. In between? He found a nice flat track in Chennai, an Indian attack led by Zaheer Khan (42 dot balls to Hayden out of 51 delivered), a 20 year old, novice Harbhajan (carted for 81 off 108 balls), and that world-beating trio of NM Kulkarni, SV Bahutule and SR Tendulkar... who served up 155 balls off which he plundered exactly 100 runs.

Oh no... I can't think WHY that looks like the profile of a flat track bully....

[Quagmire]

Hayden has been know as the worst start to a career then he was able to come back and average high 50's his average has gone down a bit now due to his age, he is still one of the best batsman in the world. Saying he is a flat track bully is a discrace he makes pitches look flat when hes batting on it when in good form, he gets after that bowlers he is so big and strong that he uses pure force and power in his shots. he is a bully but there is a massive difference between and flat track bully and a bully. Hayden has done it against every team on every sort of pitch. If someone learnt to get there head out a book and watch cricket and play the game they would understand the game a lot better. Instead of just quoting other players and writers.

Matthew Haydens tons (this is to prove who he has made runs against where and who which best bowlers were playing)

125 vs WI -home - Walsh
119 vs IND -away- Harbijian Singh
203 vs IND - away - Khan, Harbijian Singh
136 vs NZ - home - Cairns, Vettori
131 vs SAF - home - Pollock, Ntini, Kallis
105 vs SAF - home - Donald, Pollock, Kallis
138 vs SAF - home - Donald, Pollock, Kallis
122 vs SAF - away - Donald, Ntini, Kallis
119 vs PAK - away - Waqar Younis, Akhtar.
197 vs Eng - home - Hoggard, Si Jones, Caddick
102 vs Eng - home - Caddick, Harmison
100* vs WI - away - Dillon
177 vs WI - away - Dillon
380 vs ZIM - home - Streak
101* vs ZIM - home - Streak
136 vs IND - home - Kumble
130 vs SRI - away - Vaas, Muralitharan
117 vs SRI - away - Vaas, Muralitharan
132 vs SRI - away - Vaas Muralitharan
138 vs ENG - away - Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff
111 vs ICC WORLD XI - Harmison, Flintoff, Kallis, Muralitharan, Vettori
118 vs WI - home - Edwards, Collymore
110 vs WI - home - Edwards, Collymore
137 vs SAF - home - Pollock, Ntini, Kallis
102* vs SAF - away - Pollock, Ntini , Kallis
153 vs ENG - home - Hoggard, Harmison, Flintoff, Panersar

Yes some are against poor oppostion like the 153 vs ENG, but you can only smash around who your playing and if they bowl poop like Harmison and Flintoff. oh well. But three tons against Sri Lanka on those big turning wickets, three tons against Donald, five tons against Pollock, a hundred against the World XI (well the World 2nd eleven because Australian is the world first XI). Not a bad career for a flat track bully with 75 first class centuries and 98 first class fifties.

[Milo]

So he scored runs against a semi retired Donald and a 38 year old Walsh. Big deal. Fact is, he is well short of the stature of some other openers who played against the best in prime....and to suggest he is better than any Englishman since Barrington (you've clearly just taken the career average as this one haven't you?) is really funny.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Milo

So he scored runs against a semi retired Donald and a 38 year old Walsh. Big deal. Fact is, he is well short of the stature of some other openers who played against the best in prime....

To my mind he's effective rather than good... and whilst he's not a POOR option... He should not be considered a patch on Slater as an opener... or on the likes of the Waugh brothers, Martyn, Clarke as specialist batsmen. The contrast with Ponting is telling: the latter DOES look to come down the wicket to bowlers... but has a back-foot swivel pull to match any, and has the footwork and dexterity to play delightful late cuts off the back foot. He's altogether more mobile at the crease and less reliant on a heavy bat.

[Milo]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

Well considering that players like Lehmann, Love, MacGill, Kasprowicz, Hodge, Clark and Bevan for most of there careers were not seen to be test players. It’s hard for Hussey to get the side five years ago.



2002 side

Langer

Hayden

Ponting

Mark Waugh

Steve Waugh

Martyn

Gilchrist

Warne

Lee

Gillespie

McGrath



How could Hussey take the place of in that side?

I agree that you can not call Hussey a great but its how you take your opportunities that matter.

I have great praise for the way in which Hussey has taken his opportunities, but when he was 24 in 2000, five years into his first class career and averaging about 30 in Australian Pura Cup that year, Greg Blewett was opening the test innings. Langer (a number 3) and Hayden (two test rejects) were allowed to have a huge career only because there were no youngsters putting together any case to claim the opening slot after Taylor's retirement.

The time was right for Hussey to arrive, but he had been a constant under performer for WA.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Milo

So he scored runs against a semi retired Donald and a 38 year old Walsh. Big deal. Fact is, he is well short of the stature of some other openers who played against the best in prime....and to suggest he is better than any Englishman since Barrington (you've clearly just taken the career average as this one haven't you?) is really funny.

If i was going to go on averages I would have mentioned him being up with Hutton, Hobbs. Can you name great English batsman since Barrington. Who have been a better batsman than Hayden, Gooch? Atherton? Gower? Stewart? Vaughan? Gatting? Cowdrey? Greg? Strauss? Thorpe? Trescothick? Lamb? Hussain? Pietersen? I dont think so the closest is probally Gooch. It shows how poor English batting has been since Barrington's time.

Your saying that Hussey was a constant under performer for Western Australia? I think that there is not many better first class careers out there than Michael Hussey's 16,956 runs at 54.34 hs of 331*. The funny thing is that his brother David who plays for Victoria is just as good 29 years old 6118 runs at 50.98 23 hundreds in 89 matches