A couple of risky shots in the first Ashes Test could spell the end of Mike Hussey’s time in the baggy green. Yet Australian selector Greg Chappell says daring strokeplay could be the answer for Hussey in his bid to fight his way out of a form slump that has yielded an average of 37 in 35 Tests since the start of 2008.
While it’s expected Australia will give Hussey another chance for the Brisbane Test starting on November 25, the 35-year-old is facing strong competition from Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson and Steve Smith for his cherished spot in Australia’s middle-order batting.
Nicknamed “Mr Cricket”, Hussey averages a healthy 49.75 in 54 matches, but after 20 Tests his average was better than 80, earning comparisons with Don Bradman.
Chappell, one of Australia’s all-time great batsmen, says all players start to battle mental baggage as form issues start to threaten their careers.
“Sometimes a bit of youthful exuberance is the greatest asset that you can have because you don’t know what can go wrong,” Chappell told AAP.
“As you get older, the difficulty is that you are aware of the things that can go wrong and you’re aware of how hard it is to make runs at that level consistently.
“Before you have all that experience, you tend to go out and you can play with a little bit more freedom.
“The difficulty as you get older is that freedom is a little bit harder to find.
“The only way you can achieve is to get into the same state of mind that you were in as a younger player.
“That’s the hardest part of being an older player, having that freedom to go out and take some risks.
“You’ve got to risk getting out to score runs and that’s the hardest thing to do.
“We all become more conservative. I haven’t seen anyone who hasn’t suffered from that.”
Chappell retired from Tests in 1984 with a century against Pakistan at the SCG and says physically he was fine at 35.
“I was probably at the peak of my powers in many ways,” he said.
“But mentally I wasn’t. I had other commitments.
“There comes a time at which everyone finds it that much more difficult to summon up the mental energy that’s required to be successful and play as you’ve always played.
“Once I got to that stage, I knew it was time.
“I’m sure from a physical point of view, the players can play well into their 30s.
“But it’s interesting when you look back over the years, not many have been able to achieve it and still play to the level they played during their prime.
“It gets pretty demanding at that level when you’re only as good as your next performance. Cricket’s a game of dealing with failure.
“There’s a lot of failure batting at this level and I’m sure that takes its toll on everyone.
“If he can’t (lift) then we have a responsibility to look elsewhere. It’s just a fact of life.”
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