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Every game we play for Australia is a serious affair: Hussey

Special Correspondent

— PHOTO: AFP

GO-TO MAN: Ricky Ponting will fall back on Michael Hussey on the field, particularly in the absence of his usual deputy Michael Clarke.

Mumbai: The members of the Australian one-day squad who flew in here on Tuesday and coach Tim Nielsen spent an hour at an open media session and one sought after most among them was Michael Hussey.

Despite his relatively quiet run of late, Hussey said he has never been under pressure or let the lack of form affect his nerve.

The left-handed middle-order bat said: “When I scored all those runs initially, I thought what’s happening to me was unbelievable. I was pinching myself every morning. But, probably the time had to come for me to go through this poor run. I have looked at this philosophically; things just did not go my way, although I was hitting the ball well. I approached batting in my own way and trusted my game.

“I suppose one needs luck along the way and I think I had that in the last Ashes Test at the Oval. I was dropped at 50 and went on to make a century (121). I think anyone would need luck along the way. Hopefully next year would be better for me.” Hussey emphasised the primacy of the Ashes for an Australian cricketer.

“There’s so much tradition and history to it. Playing the Ashes is the ultimate goal for any Australian cricketer; to me it’s not playing the Ashes alone, but playing it in England. It may not be necessarily the toughest — playing in South Africa and India could be equally tough and challenging. In India, I find the heat and humidity very harsh.

Agrees with Ponting

“It’s a fair call for Ponting to say that a seven-match series is too much, especially if the series is decided half way through. Five is good enough to determine the winner. Too much cricket drains one out mentally and physically. But every game we play for Australia is a serious affair.” said Hussey.

Meanwhile, the visitors had their first outdoor training at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla Complex facility at Bandra (East) on Thursday in preparation for the Hero Honda Cup seven-match one-day series beginning at Baroda on Sunday.

The six players from Victoria Bushrangers and New South Wales Blues teams that played the T20 Champions League semifinal at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday were absent. While Cameron White, Peter Siddle and Jon Holland have already joined the team and will practice on Friday, the NSW members Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger will fly directly to Baroda after playing the Champions League final.

Ricky Ponting, who said he likes to face the team’s best bowlers in the nets, will probably have to wait till Saturday to face the entire complement of his attack; or it may happen only after the first one-day international.

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