In the last five years, Twenty20 tournaments have become a lot more serious too. They’ve moved from entertainment to a very seriously contested competition. The coaches and players want to keep their jobs, by winning, and the supporters want success. Even though it’s fun, it’s not a circus.
I was planning to join the CSK coaching staff as a batting coach for 2014. I was a bit nervous about not playing much cricket and then going straight into IPL and having to perform under pressure, but Stephen Fleming and the owners have encouraged me to play another year as a batsman, where they think I’ll provide more value to them.
At time of writing, I am waiting to see. All IPL contracts ended after the 2013 season, and it’s up to the franchises to retain their players at the next auction. I’m hoping Chennai will buy me back. Meanwhile, I’ve signed up with the Sydney Thunder in the BBL to help that team get to the top. I look forward to a couple of months in a city that has given me so many great memories. It was an extremely tough decision to leave Perth Scorchers and one I agonised over for a long time, but it’s a great opportunity to join a team that has been struggling and to try and help their revival as a respected team in the competition.
The idea of a life after cricket is strange. Like any professional sportsman, I have lived two lives: one in cricket and one outside. This book has been mainly about my cricket life. Now my focus is on my ‘real’ life. But when I think of how much I love the game, I can’t imagine cutting that life off completely.
I have consulted a lot of retired players about how to deal with the next stage. Some want to get away from cricket altogether. Others want to keep a ‘cricket fix’ through playing. Justin Langer and Allan Border were two greats who went on in Sheffield Shield cricket as they weaned themselves off their playing careers. Justin really wanted to keep playing, but he needed a project – to lead a team. When I played my last few games for Western Australia in early 2013, I didn’t want the burden of leadership. The challenge of bat versus ball was motivation enough. I don’t know if I want to go through all the rigours of leading a team. Others have gone into coaching, the media and management. Stephen Fleming, my coach at CSK in recent years, went from being captain of the New Zealand cricket team, making important decisions every day, to not having his phone ring. He found that tough, like a retiring CEo.
The best advice seems to be to try a bit of everything and see what I enjoy. People say, ‘Figure out what you want to do. It’s like batting. Figure out what you do best.’ I understand that. I’m doing an institute of directors course, as I’m already on a couple of boards. I would like to do some media work. I hope to help coach some of the West Australian boys, but informally, not in a structured role, as I’m not ready to take on a full-time commitment involving travel.
As far as the wider game is concerned, I feel that it is in good shape in Australia and internationally. I have lost touch with grassroots cricket, having not been part of it for a decade or more, but as William grows older I am sure I will re-connect. He is playing Into Cricket, the first stage, which is popular with kids.
At grade cricket level, my one concern is that it doesn’t have as many 28- to 35-year-olds playing as when I was with Wanneroo. Changes in society have meant that men that age are spending more time with their families, or working, and don’t have the ability to give their weekends to a cricket club. The result is that there aren’t so many good hard blokes to teach youngsters how to play. When I started playing A-grade, there were only two young guys like me, and the rest were much older. Now the proportion has been reversed. It’s had a detrimental effect on the standard of play, which has been reflected at the next level. And then in state cricket, the same push for youth has affected the standards there, and made the jump to international cricket bigger than ever.
Internationally, I think the game is in pretty good shape. The ICC are spending a lot of money on developing new areas like China, Japan, South-East Asia and elsewhere. I applaud that, but would also like them to spend the majority of their money on making sure the core countries are strong. Some of them are having financial troubles and have weak first-class structures. Effort and money has to be put in to maintain that core.
An issue that international administrators have to face is suspect bowling actions. A lot of bowlers around the world have bad actions and some things need to be done. Players are thinking, ‘He’s getting away with it so I’ll try to get away with it.’ It’s a common topic in dressing rooms and greatly frustrating. If you get out to a chucker, you feel you’ve been personally disadvantaged. It may cost your career. Authorities need to monitor suspect actions a lot closer.
I’ve spoken highly of T20 cricket and the good it’s brought to the game. It’s been brilliant in enticing young athletes to play cricket, which is paramount when other sporting codes are competing to sign them up from a young age. T20 has brought many more numbers to the game, and opened the door for more families, women and children to fall in love with cricket. But I do think it will have an impact on Test cricket. In T20 you’re trying to clear the front leg and get the arms free. My grounding was in getting in line, batting for long periods and building scores. I’m already seeing first-class players whose techniques have been weakened, worldwide. And the mental capabilities are going out of the game. Now it’s, ‘Get on with it, get to 40 or 50 quickly, get the game moving.’ With more and more T20 cricket being played, I believe that the emphasis is more on scoring quickly, hitting boundaries and power play. This could have an effect on Test cricket where defensive technique is so important; batting for long periods of time and building innings are skills that take years and years of practice to learn and execute, under pressure, in the middle.
After the allegations surrounding the 2013 IPL, it’s hard to talk about Twenty20 cricket without mentioning the spectre of corruption. Cricket corruption sounds to me like it has been around throughout the history of the game and will possibly have a presence in years to come, but the game is doing a lot to educate and deter players. In my whole career in the Australian team I’ve never been approached by anyone with any corruption in mind. Players weren’t paid that well in the past, whereas they are paid very well now. So the temptation is a lot lower. At the IPL and all international matches, there is a blanket rule to hand our phones in on the team bus before we arrive at the ground. There are devices detecting if mobile phones are being used in dressing rooms. But I’m not naïve to the fact that it still happens. Even if there’s only be a tiny, tiny percentage of players who aren’t competing in a great spirit and giving of their best. In all sports, a minority that causes scandals doesn’t wreck the whole sport in the long term, but, that said, every step needs to be taken to rub out cheats with absolute finality.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I always found batting a mental and emotional struggle. I don’t know how I’ll feel about not playing as time goes by. But I know for sure that I’m looking forward to not having that sick feeling in my stomach as I’m waiting to bat. I’m looking forward to no more stress about losing. I’m looking forward to no more public scrutiny and pressure on my batting.
I’m not a deep thinker about whether it’s all been worthwhile. Obviously I’ll never get back those months I missed of my children’s early years, and all the time I missed with Amy. That was the price we paid. I have no regrets about it, but it’s a high price. The honour of representing Australia in a game that I love gives me enormous pride and makes the sacrifices along the way worthwhile.
For so long, I was committed to my dream to play for Western Australia. Then there was a dream to play for Australia. Once I’d made it, there was a transition to: How do I keep playing for Australia? And finally it was: How do I want to be remembered?
I wanted to be a respected player and a respected team man and respected for how I played the game. When I was young I didn’t think about that – it was about getting to the destination. But I hope I ended up achieving those goals in my years as an international player.
The main thing I want to be remembered for is as a good team man. The respect of my peers was everything. When I was given that guard of honour by the Sri Lankan players in Sydney, I was shocked. I didn’t expect it or feel I deserved it, not compared to someone like Ricky Ponting. But maybe they and the public see me as someone who’s played the game with good values. If that’s so, I would feel hugely honoured.
During that last Test, a few people said that what encapsulated me was that whenever Australia was in trouble, they could depend on me to come out and save the team. That touched me. To be seen as a man for a dire situation makes me feel really good inside.
But you know what? on the inside, when those crises were happening and I was the next man in, I absolutely hated it! And I didn’t feel like a dependable type. Nobody was more nervous than I was. But when I hear that at the other end of the struggle, people respected me for getting the job done, it does feel worthwhile.
My most precious memory of cricket at all levels is the time I’ve spent in the dressing room with the team after a good game. That’s what it’s all about. Everyone can be himself and show his true personality, and let go. That’s what I really love, and where the laughter and fun is. The Australian dressing room is a sacred place. Not many people get to go in there, so I treasure that and will never forget what a privilege it was.
Born: May 27, 1975 Mount Lawley (Western Australia) Left hand batsman - Right arm medium
CRICKET CAREER
HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE FOR AUSTRALIA (Test cricket - Qualification 20 innings)
FIRST CLASS TRIPLE CENTURIES BY AUSTRALIANS
FOUR OR MORE CENTURIES IN CONSECUTIVE INNINGS
HIGHEST WICKET PARTNERSHIPS
LONGEST INNINGS BY AUSTRALIANS
MOST RUNS FOR AUSTRALIA (Test cricket)
MOST RUNS FOR AUSTRALIA (International One-days)
HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE FOR AUSTRALIA (International One-days - Qualification 20 innings)
LEAST DAYS TO REACH 100 TEST RUNS
LEAST INNINGS TO REACH 100 TEST RUNS
MOST FIRST-CLASS CAREER RUNS BY AUSTRALIANS
FIRST-CLASS CAREER
Debut:- 1994-95 Western Australia v Tasmania, Hobart
TEST CAREER
Debut:- 2005-06 Australia v West Indies, Brisbane
SHEFFIELD SHIELD CAREER
Debut:- 1994-95 Western Australia v Tasmania, Hobart
INTERNATIONAL LIMITED-OVERS CAREER
Debut:- 2003-04 Australia v India, Perth
DOMESTIC LIMITED-OVERS CAREER
Debut:- 1996-97 Western Australia v Victoria, Perth
INTERNATIONAL TWENTY/20 CAREER
Debut:- 2004-05 Australia v New Zealand, Auckland
INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE CAREER
Debut:- 2007-08 Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, Mohali
Iwould like to give thanks to my mum and dad, for their support and guidance over the course of my life so far. Thank you to Amy and her extended family for their love, support and help over my cricket career, which took me away from home for up to eleven months a year. Thank you to all of my teammates and coaches, with whom I have spent the best part of twenty years travelling the world, playing a game we all love very much. My best memories of playing cricket have been because of you. A big thanks to the fans; the support for the team and players is a huge source of inspiration and motivation to perform well for the team and the country. Thanks too to the WACA and Cricket Australia. Thank you to Neil Maxwell and Judie Anderson, who have been advisors, counsellors, confidants, but most of all good friends over the journey. Lastly, I would like to thank Malcolm Knox for helping me compile my story. Many hours on Skype while away on tour in India have produced a book that I am extremely proud of, and without your guidance it certainly would not have been possible.
This ebook published in 2013 by Hardie Grant Books
Published in print in 2013 by Hardie Grant Books
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Copyright text © Michael Hussey 2013
Cataloguing-in-Publication data is available from the National Library of Australia.
Underneath the Southern Cross
eISBN: 9781743581025
Publisher: Pam Brewster
Cover and print text design: Luke Causby/Blue Cork
Digital editor: Hannah Koelmeyer
Statistics: Ross Dundas
Cover photographs: Getty Images
Underneath the Southern Cross Page 34
