Cricketing gods give Hussey a break

Mr Cricket: Mike Hussey during training at the SCG.

MIKE Hussey's match-winning 89 in the second innings at Melbourne was important on many levels.

It was the innings that spared the blushes of Australia's faltering top order and propelled the hosts to a 1-0 lead in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

It was the knock that helped Hussey survive the selector's axe - again - and cemented his inclusion for tomorrow's Sydney Test.

And it ensured that the Western Australian veteran would finish 2011 as Australia's leading Test run-scorer.

Hussey, however, made it clear yesterday his innings was not an overdue return to form. In fact, Hussey felt he had gone through the South African and New Zealand series with little reward, and was bound to produce a decent tally.

"I don't look too closely when people say you're in good form or bad form," Hussey said at the SCG yesterday. "You know in yourself how you're going, and as long as you're sticking to how you prepare and stay calm and relaxed, you can be in good form all the time.

"One mistake or one decision doesn't go your way, or you get some really conducive conditions for bowling, sometimes you don't get a say in being able to make a big score. On the other hand, you can not be batting very well and have lots of luck. You might get dropped three times and be able to score runs."

Hussey has been on a rollercoaster ride his past 10 series with impressive efforts against England in the Ashes loss and Sri Lankan tour. But his average of 15 and 7.66 against South Africa and the Black Caps led to renewed calls for his head.

The 36-year-old looked in real danger of getting dumped for the SCG clash after a first-ball duck in Melbourne, even though it was an incorrect call.

Hussey showed rare on-field anger as he trudged back to the sheds, pleading with the cricket gods, he said, to "give me a break".

"It just felt like I was preparing so well, I felt really good in my mind, I felt like I had been hitting the ball really well the last couple of months but not getting any reward for the hard work I had been putting in," Hussey said.

Hussey said he had "mixed feelings" about finishing 2011 the Aussie's top run-scorer with 680 runs, 62 runs clear of skipper Michael Clarke (618).

He said it had been a re-building year for the team, and one he hoped to remain very much a part of in the coming years.

Hussey even threw his support behind fellow veteran and under-fire batsman Ricky Ponting to be also included in future plans: "We have some passionate people involved that want to take this team forward and that's something I want to be a part of as well," Hussey said. "I know Ricky is exactly the same."

Source:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/cricketing-gods-give-hussey-a-break/story-fn67w6pa-1226234381463