Rusty? Not Hussey

KUALA LUMPUR: Shortly before reaching his maiden hundred, Michael Hussey smashed Dwayne Bravo for a six over long on. The Kinrara Oval is not a big stadium  but in any ground that whack would still have been a six. Hussey finished with 109 off just 90 balls, but his acceleration came towards the end as he led Australia to 272, a total that looked improbable when he came out to bat.

Hussey, promoted as skipper, expressed his apprehension that he could be a bit rusty on the eve of the game. On Monday, he showed no nerves or rustiness as he walked in to join Matthew Hayden with his team four wickets down.

With Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds back in the pavilion, Hussey along with Hayden added 40 to steady the innings. Once Hayden fell, Hussey took it upon himself to bat through the innings.

He hit the third highest ODI score on debut by a skipper and also added 165 with wicket-keeper Brad Haddin — a record for the sixth wicket.

Hussey paced his innings to perfection. He hit his first 50 off 52 balls stroking four boundaries in the progress but got a move on as he took only 34 balls to reach the
century mark. The first signs of his big hitting came as he slog-swept Chris Gayle for a six.

With Ricky Pointing deciding to take a break, Hussey made an impact in his first game in-charge — a good sign for the Australians who are using the tournament to experiment with their squad.