AUSSIE LEGEND HAPPY TO HELP ENGLAND IN ASHES Hussey loves his ‘strange’ life with the old enemy
AUSSIE great Mike Hussey will be happy to do whatever he can to help England turn his countrymen over on Friday – and would even assist them in the Ashes if asked.
For a man who did so much during his playing career to keep the Ashes in Australian hands, this is a heck of a turnaround.
But after being signed up to coach the old enemy, he is clear where his loyalties lie this week.
It is a position that has caused a bit of a stir in Aussie cricket circles.
Former team-mates give him some ribbing while, incredibly, there was a local radio station that wondered whether his new job as batting consultant to the likes of Jos Buttler was “un-Australian”.
That is maybe taking things too far but it shows how deep the battle lines can run if you have been as good as Hussey.
“I must admit the first time I pulled on the England shirt it was a little strange,” said the 47-year-old.
“My son William is pretty keen on it though.
“There have been a few comments from former teammates but they understand the coaching landscape.
“I’m very passionate about coaching and I love it. You get to work with the players and develop those individual relationships and you forget about what you’re wearing.
“For me there’s a much bigger picture than just the Australia versus England rivalry.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to be involved with a new team and see if I can help a few players.
“It will be a slightly weird feeling as an Australian to actually hope England’s going to beat Australia, but that is what I’ll be hoping for on Friday. I wouldn’t have any issues whatsoever with the Ashes either. Brendon McCullum has done a fantastic job as coach with the Test team in the short time he’s been there.”
Why Hussey should be treated any differently to England whiteball head coach Matthew Mott or another fellow Aussie, World Cup winner Trevor Bayliss, is a fair question. But the left-hander known as ‘Mr Cricket’ did average 59.27 in the Ashes with four hundreds, earning a strong profile as a fair dinkum Aussie, with the zinc cream on the nose to boot.
Like so many of his compatriots past and present, Hussey is a bit of an Anglophile having turned out for Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Durham across 148 first class, List A matches and T20s, scoring almost 10,000 runs.
And he would have passed plenty of advice and help on to young English players.
It is just that now he can do it on the biggest stage with huge talents like Harry Brook.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Harry,” added Hussey. “He’s always open to any ideas – he wants to get better.
“He really thinks about the game and is at that early phase in his career where he wants to soak up as much as he possibly can.
“He’s got a structure and a routine to his preparation, but then he’s such an instinctive player when he’s out in the middle.
“It took me a long time to learn how to do that.
“He’s got that at a lot younger age than what I did.”