Michael Hussey - A rare breed

     As another fantastic gentleman signs off from the game, I write this short note as a testimony to the services Mike Hussey has offered Australian Cricket, rather Cricket in general.

Michael Hussey had already accumulated over 15,000 first class runs without getting a look-in to the Test team, for obvious reasons related to the formidable nature of the Aussie line-up those days. The faint-hearted would have resigned to the fact that the opportunity will never come and could have hung up. Not Mr Cricket, as he is fondly known as. He continued to churn out runs at a staggering rate and made it almost impossible for the Aussie selectors to continue to ignore him, though he was aged 30 and a half by then.

On his Test Debut against the Windies in November 2005, Hussey had mustered just a single when he was dismissed playing his favorite hook shot. Having worked relentlessly hard to earn a test cap, Hussey would have been devastated on the outcome during his first outing. As we all eventually came to know about him, he is a fighter and an extremely positive character. In the match that followed, he scored a hundred and followed it up with another at Adelaide, which for me was a top class illustration of batting with the lower order while farming the strike. Dwayne Bravo was on spectacular bowling form that day and he was well on way to helping the Windies take an unlikely lead when the Aussies were 295-8. Hussey was batting on 35, Stuart MacGill who was not a mug with the bat but certainly not a Jason Gillespie either, joined him. With the number 10 for company, the talented Western Australian had reached 99 and when the last man got out, he was unbeaten on 133. Mike Hussey has arrived.

Between 2005 and till he announced his retirement in the end of 2012, Michael Hussey was Australia’s go-to-Man in all formats of the game. He has resurrected many a middle order collapses in Test matches and has shepherded the innings expertly in tricky run-chases on numerous occasions. He was not tailor-made for the T20 format, but his adaptability in this version has been top class. His outrageous assault on Saeed Ajmal in the 2010 World Cup semi-final is not something to be forgotten in a hurry.

Michael Hussey’s commitment to the cause and the determination to be the best in all he does on the field have been well-documented. He has been immensely valued by his IPL Franchisee, the Chennai Super Kings - whom I madly support. When Hussey plays, the team naturally gets the needed stability. On the field, I have hardly ever seen him drop a skier. The moment we see a top edge soaring towards the sky, all prayers would be for Hussey to get under it - He simply refuses to put them down.

Back in the year 2006, In one of the post-match presentations, Ricky Ponting being the skipper had to call the names of his team members, for them to collect their medals. “The talented Mr Cricket” was how Ricky addressed Mike Hussey as, for which the latter displayed a total sense of embarrassment. He was never the one who liked accolades and always preferred to stay away from the limelight. Even during his last innings, the ultimate team man he is, ensured that the win had to be the priority while urging Mitchell Johnson to play as the game goes and not wait for him to hit the winning runs.

He was fabulously talented and blessed with abundant technical abilities, no question about that. But beyond the cricketing potential, what made Michael Hussey stand out from the others is his phenomenal character and an extra-ordinary temperament. He was born to play Cricket and that’s the only thing he did right through his career. He didn’t sledge, he didn’t abuse, he didn’t berate his partner for a poor run-call and he definitely never showed a dissent to rough umpiring decisions. All he did was, play the game with nerves of steel and a determination to fight till the end, backed by an enormous amount of self-belief - importantly, self-esteem. His timing of exit illustrated the last attribute mentioned.

His International career lasted less than 9 years, but he got a generous guard of honor when we walked out to bat in his final Test match. I don’t remember anyone else who played for less than a decade, getting a similar treatment. It goes on to show how highly he is rated and regarded by his peers. He had his share of slumps during his career, but even during those times, his positive energy on the field would conceal his poor form. He always provides you the impression that a good innings isn't far away and more often than not, it was the case.

Cricketers like Michael Hussey are a very rare commodity and the game can only get poorer as he chooses to leave. He is such an adorable player, a very balanced personality, a super-fit athlete and as mentioned earlier, an incredibly clean human-being. Thanks Michael for being such a wonderful servant to Australian Cricket, thanks for illustrating that you can be nice and still play the game hard. Thanks for all the wonderfully spirited innings you have played, thanks for those rasping pulls and hooks and those eye-catching cover drives. Thanks for the hare-like running between the wickets and important of all to me, thanks for setting up the tone for the Chennai Super Kings with a superb debut hundred, not to forget your stupendous overall contribution towards the team's discipline.

For a thoroughbred Australian Cricketer, you deserved to be part of more than one Ashes winning campaigns and definitely didn't deserve to be part of two losing ones. But that's the way the game goes. Nevertheless, you are one of the brightest examples and a true idol for anyone who wants to play the sport, to follow.

World Cricket will miss you, Huss! We do not see another of your kind around the corner!