Right to the very last moment of his international career, Mr Cricket was modest to a fault.
Selectors dropped a bombshell on Sunday by robbing Mike Hussey of a farewell Australian tour in the coming one-day series.
But, despite being reminded all week of the special place he holds for Australian cricket fans, Hussey refused to entertain even for a second, the thought of putting himself before his teammates.
“I would have liked to have played but the selectors spoke to me and said they were starting to look towards the 2015 World Cup,” he said.
“That’s fine. I understand where they’re trying to go. There are no worries.”
And that was that.
Hussey was in the Members Pavilion with his pads on watching Ed Cowan and Michael Clarke attempting to run down Sri Lanka’s target of 141.
But all he could hear was the crowd cheering “Hussey” over-and-over.
They were pleading for a wicket to fall to get the stoic left-hander to the crease one last time and to hit the winning runs.
Rather than indulge himself in the atmosphere, Hussey said afterwards he wanted to get on the PA system and tell the crowd to shoosh.
But in the end Clarke got out and the mob got their wish.
Or at least they thought they did.
It appeared as though Hussey and Mitchell Johnson were carefully constructing play so that Hussey could hit the winning runs.
But, himself until the end, Hussey was planning to escape the spotlight.
He pushed a single to get Johnson on strike with one run required for victory.
Johnson nudged the ball square and, on Hussey’s call, they crossed for the winning run.
For most at the SCG, it was anti-climactic.
But for the ultimate team man it was the perfect way to go.
“I was telling Mitch the over before ‘if it comes up that you hit it, I am more than happy. Let’s just get this over and done with,” Hussey said.
“I was hoping we could make the runs none down but more than happy just to be out there when the winning run was hit.
“I wanted the job done.”
Hussey was embarrassed by all the fuss.
But not for a moment was he ungrateful for the “overwhelming” support he’s received all week from a combined total of 87,797 fans in Sydney.
“What a place to finish. The SCG is probably in my top three favourite grounds in the world,” he said.
“It couldn’t have ended any better. I’ve achieved a lot more in my career than I’ve dreamed.”
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