Hussey to quit 5-day format after 3rd Test against Sri Lanka. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Australian veteran Mike Hussey announced yesterday he will retire from Test cricket after next week’s third and final match against Sri Lanka in Sydney.
The evergreen Hussey, who continues to flourish at 37, said he wanted to spend more time with his four young children, who are all aged under eight.
“The Sydney Test against Sri Lanka will be my last Test match,” said Hussey. “I was quite excited to tell them (the children) that I’m not going to go away and play for Australia any more.”
Hussey’s retirement will leave a huge hole in Australia’s lower batting order ahead of next year’s back-to-back Ashes away and home series against England and the tour of India. Hussey said the final straw was the realisation that long Test tours of India and England no longer excited him.
“The clincher for me was when I started looking ahead to the Indian and Ashes series. I didn’t have the excitement and buzz about facing the challenges of those two tours that I felt like I should have. So for me that meant that I was making the right decision.”
Hussey has scored 19 hundreds in 78 Tests and averages 51.5. His recent form has been outstanding and he has been averaging 180 after two Tests in the current series against Sri Lanka. He said playing in any Test match was a stressful experience, but next week’s third Sydney Test, his farewell match, could prove to be different.
“I feel like I can come into this last Test match with no pressure whatsoever. I can just really go out there and enjoy it.”
Hussey, who made his Test debut at the late age of 30 in 2005, has become Australia’s 12th-leading run-scorer with 6,183 runs at 51.5.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2012.
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There a few cricketers still around with Mike Hussey 's tenacity, love for the game and talent with unassuming personality. He along with Hashim Amla are two of my favorite cricketers who let them game do the talking. His inning against in the T20 World cup against Saeed Ajmal will always stay with us. He surely be missed because there would be very few cricketers around who are just like Mike. My hat is off to him. If one has to go then this is the way to go with guns blazing and still being at the top of the game. He has been Australia 's batting 's backbone for last three years.
That is the way to exit the world stage. On your own terms with head held high and not grudgingly when calls for removal become louder and louder and you keep hanging on for one final shot at glory.