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When the national selectors sit down to name the Australian Twenty20 squad for the World Cup in March, they could do a lot worse than pick Michael Hussey, Brad Hodge, and Brad Hogg.
The reasons? Reliability and cool heads under pressure
Before Roarers have cardiac arrests at the thought, forget their birth certificates – they don’t mean a toss.
Hussey is 40 years young and 206 days, Hodge is 40 years and 354, Hogg 44 and 315.
All three are almost on the pension, but are still magnificent cricketers which should be the only criteria for selection.
Captain Hussey quilted an unbeaten 80 off 59 deliveries for the Sydney Thunder to inflict their first defeat over cross-town rivals the Sydney Sixers by 36 runs at Spotless Stadium on Thursday night with 18,287 on board.
Captain Hodge’s unbeaten 56 off 41 led the Adelaide Strikers to a 19-run win over the powerhouse Melbourne Stars at Adelaide Oval last night where 27,611 spectators voted with their feet.
We’ll have to wait until Monday before Hogg makes his first appearance of the season with the two-time Big Bash League champion Perth Scorchers when they take on Hodge’s Strikers at the WACA. There will be another big crowd.
Let’s just stick to Hussey and Hodge, for the moment, and let me pose this question.
In a tense moment in the World Cup, who would you rely on – Hussey, Hodge, or Glenn Maxwell, the ‘Big Show’ who is more a show pony?
Last night Maxwell was in a position to steer the Stars home, but in his usual moment of madness he premeditated a reverse sweep and holed out.
Had he been a Hussey or a Hodge and only played every ball on merit, Maxwell would have had a juicy full toss outside leg stump that he could have deposited 15 rows back over midwicket.
Instead, Maxwell played the low percentage but hero shot that had him heading back to the shed, ending his team’s bid for victory.
It’s not the first time he’s done it, and it certainly won’t be the last.
Give me Hussey and Hodge any day.
This weekend will have even more repercussions on the Big Bash League ladder.
On Sunday, the Sydney Thunder take on the Melbourne Stars at the MCG and added to their strong batting line-up will be the first appearance of Usman Khawaja. The game will double as a fitness test for his torn hamstring, and determine whether he faces the West Indies at the MCG on Boxing Day.
While Test and Twenty20 cricket are vastly different formats, there’s a common currency – runs and how they are compiled.
National selector Mark Waugh told Inside Cricket during the week that Khawaja’s back-to-back centuries against New Zealand before his injury demanded he be back in the Test side if fit.
That translates to either Test opener Joe Burns, or big century-maker Shaun Marsh, being dropped to make way for Khawaja and both will be on Big Bash duty over the next few days.
One thing is for sure, watching the first two nights of the BBL has been a whole lot more appealing than watching the woeful Windies pretend they are Test cricketers.