There’s a startling similarity in the Test careers of Mike Hussey and Adam Voges.
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For starters, they are both Perth born-and-bred Western Australians, and both were shamefully treated by national selectors before they belatedly won their first baggy green.
Hussey was 30 and had scored over 17,000 first-class runs before he debuted, against the West Indies at the Gabba in November 2005.
Voges was 35 with over 11,000 first-class runs when he debuted, also against the West Indies, but in Rosseau in June this year.
Hussey scored one on debut, but Voges became the oldest in history to score a Test century first up, finishing with an unbeaten 130.
In his first 17 digs, Hussey scored 1, 29, 137, 31*, 133*, 30*, 23, 58, 122, 31, 45, 6, 14*, 75, 73, 89, and 23. That’s a total of 920 at 70.77.
Voges’ first 17 were 130*, 37, 31, 1, 25, 16, 0, 1, 51*, 76, 83*, 1*, 41, 119, 13, 28, and 174*, for 827 at 68.91.
Both had three Test tons to their credit at the same stage.
Hussey finished his stellar career with 6235 runs at 51.52 from 79 Tests, with 19 tons, and 29 half-centuries – a magnificent batsman.
With Voges at 36, even as fit as he is, it’s doubtful he has another 68 Tests in him to match Hussey. But if Voges can end his Test career with an average over 50, he will have matched Hussey as a valued middle-order batsman.
Thursday was yet another example of how valuable Voges is to the current line-up.
With Joe Burns (33), vice-captain David Warne (64), and skipper Steve Smith (10) back in the shed at 3-121 against the West Indies at Bellerive, an early Voges departure would have been catastrophic.
By stumps he was unbeaten on 174, and had found at staunch ally in Shaun Marsh, fighting to retain his berth, also unbeaten on 139, and Australia 3-438.
Their unfinished 317-run fourth-wicket stand is second only to Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting’s all-time Bellerive record partnership of 352, set against Pakistan in 2010.
And the current pair haven’t finished yet.
There must be something in the water, because Marsh is Western Australian born and bred as well – but at Narrogin, 192 kilometres south-east of Perth.
Matters not, all three are very proud Western Australians.
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