Can Hussey catch Bradman?
The scary thing is Mike Hussey once had a test average of 15.
That was after his debut. Since that nervous introduction against the West Indies, Hussey, including today’s unbeaten 101, averages 95.
Ninety-five?
This isn’t just one good series. This is two years worth of gluttony. It’s often said the average a batsman has after thirty tests is generally the average he’ll carry through his career. Hussey is in his 18th test, so these Bradman-esque numbers are beginning to have a permanency.
Where will he finish? Hussey showed at the World Cup that he has the potential to slump, so it’s unlikely these astonishing heights can remain. Simple mathematics will tell you though that if he’s averaging 87 for his first 18 tests, then a moderate average of 40 for the next 18 tests would still keep him well above 60.
And that’s being conservative. After all, which attack in world cricket would Hussey be fearing right now? Murali isn’t a problem, pacemen aren’t a problem, so where is this apparent slump going to come from?
An average of a bit above 60 would be enough to place Hussey second on the all-time list. That’s 130 years of test cricket, and Hussey, a player that debuted at 30, could sit above Headley, Pollock, Sutcliffe, Sobers and the rest.
Is Hussey the second greatest batsman in the history of cricket? With Hayden and Ponting still firing, Hussey might not even be the second best batsman in his team.
But no-one else in the world has a chance of catching Bradman.
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You say that he debuted at 30 as if that’s something that should have hindered him, but could it be the reason why he’s done so well in the Australian team?
He’s clearly had a plenty of experience at other levels of the game.
The average is nearer 85, after a good score in the second test with India. Both Hussey and most commentators expect it to come down some more but it is phenomenal and greatly exciting to see such performances continuing to flow.
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