Hussey to continue all forms
The Sunday Age
Sunday June 21, 2009
MICHAEL Hussey considered standing down from at least one form of cricket because of the relentless program, but as he approaches his first Ashes series in England, the Australian batsman is conscious of his shelf-life as an international cricketer and has decided to press on in all three for as long as he can.Hussey, 34, is one of Australia's busiest players and the schedule has taken its toll on him in recent months. He was forced to take a break for the recent limited-overs series against Pakistan and missed the Indian Premier League season in an effort to freshen up.He suggested he was not the only senior man in the Australian dressing room to have contemplated whether to lighten his workload after the failed Twenty20 campaign."I just threw it up in my own mind and thought, 'Well, is it something that we should be looking at?' I think probably a few of the guys were just throwing it around, but for me personally I enjoy all forms of the game."I love Test cricket and I love one-day international cricket, but I've really enjoyed playing Twenty20 cricket as well, both for Australia and in the IPL. It's a difficult choice to make if you had to, but for me I didn't really want to make that choice," Hussey said."I want to try and play as much as I can. It took me so long to get one opportunity to play for Australia, so I would like to play as much as I possibly can because I know my shelf-life is a bit shorter than other guys who were able to start a bit younger."It is hard to believe Hussey had not made his Test debut when Australia lost the 2005 Ashes, so profound has been his influence since. He was instrumental in Australia's 5-0 whitewash in 2006-07, plundering 458 runs at an astonishing average of 91.60. He is also an experienced hand in English county cricket, and a certain starter for the first Test.Hussey said that the Australians had lifted a cog in their preparation."Everyone is going to be very keen to do well because I think we're all shooting for places in the first Test team," he said."Probably other than the captain, vice-captain and a couple of other key players, I don't think anybody can rest on their laurels. For me personally I'm really keen to get a couple of big scores and get the confidence up high coming into that first Test."
© 2009 The Sunday Age