Defence has to be pretty strong in Asia – Mike Hussey
Aug 11, 2016 at 10:22 AM
When Australia last toured Sri Lanka for a test series, the results were in their favor as they clinched the 3 match series 1-0. A really fascinating aspect about that series was the fact that in all the three games, the Man of the Match was Australian middle order batsman and legend Mike Hussey. Mr. Cricket, as his fans often called him, was the spine of the Australian batting and batted like a true champion in that series.
With the current Aussie setup being massacred by the Sri Lankan lions, things look pretty bleak for the Kangaroos. The series so far has been a horror show for the entire team except pacer Mitchell Starc, who has bowled his heart out on unresponsive pitches. This has been Australia’s first ever test series loss to Sri Lanka, and the reason behind that has been their dismal batting.
In a chat with cricket.com.au, Hussey opened up about being successful in Asia, and mentioned the need for a resolute defense. “Your defence has to be pretty sound. “Listening to a lot of the comments from the guys they sound like they’ve got the right game plan. “They don’t want to let a bowler settle, they want to try and get off the strike and rotate the strike as much as possible,” said Hussey.
“They want to bat long, long periods of time and build big innings. “They’re saying all the right things, but obviously not executing it as well as they would have liked at this stage. “I think they’re on the right path. They were a lot of things that I was saying to myself when I was over there quite a few years ago now,” Hussey further added.
Acknowledging the need for a strong mindset against Rangana Herath, the southpaw said, “I’m trying to be positive, I’m trying to be confident, trying to make sure my defence is really, really strong.”My mindset is ‘I’m going to watch the ball as best as I possibly can, play each ball as well as I can and if something explodes or does something crazy then there’s nothing I can really do about it’. “I’m just looking to play the ball, be positive, try to figure out where a couple of singles are to get off strike and build a new partnership with my mate at the other end.”