18 Facts about Michael Hussey – The moniker of Mr.Cricket

Michael Hussey is one of the best middle-order batsmen of his era. Despite making a late entry to the international scene, Hussey made a mark for himself in very quick time. He was highly influential in many of the biggest victories that the Aussie team registered in the last decade. Mr. Cricket, as he is fondly known, is truly a legend of the game. Here are some interesting facts about Michael Hussey:

1. Roots and beginnings:

Michael Edward Killeen Hussey was born on 27 May 1975 at Mount Lawley in Western Australia. He started playing professional cricket with his younger brother David Hussey. The two were very competitive, as they admit. He started playing for Western Australia and soon played at the U19 level too.

2. Schooling:

Hussey attended Whitford Catholic Primary School in his early years and later attended Prendiville Catholic College in the northern suburbs of Perth.

3. Early aspirations:

During his early days, Mike aspired to be a Science professor! He has admitted the same on numerous occasions. If not a professional cricketer, we would have seen Michael Hussey as a science teacher.

4. The big scholarship:

After finishing school he won a scholarship to the Australian Cricket Academy, where his contemporaries included Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.

5. Mountain of runs before his international debut:

He made a relatively late entry to the international scene, making his debut at 28 years and 30 years in ODIs and Tests respectively. He had 15,313 first-class runs before making his Test debut.

6. Two triple tons:

Mike Hussey scored an unbeaten 329 for Northamptonshire in 2001. He then went on to lead the team in the following season. In August 2003, he surpassed his own Northamptonshire record when he scored 331 not out against Somerset at Taunton.

7. Mr. Know-it-all:

He is popularly nicknamed as Mr. Cricket for the deep knowledge of the game. He is also called Huss and Mike by his teammates. Andrew Flintoff is said to have coined the nickname Mr. Cricket for him.

8. Staggering numbers at no. 7:

Throughout his career, he was often found playing with the tail. In cases like these, the batsman is often expected to hit rash shots. But Mike was a master batting with the tail. He batted at the number 7 position in 21 ODIs and averaged 120.83 with 725 runs to his name. In the T20Is, he averages 124 at the same position with 248 runs in 8 matches.

9. Brotherly love:

It was the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia in 2010 when the Hussey brothers turned up against one another. Mike turned up for WA while Dave played for Victoria. Hussey was dismissed cheaply in the first innings, an 18-ball duck to be precise. He was so disheartened that he worried his career might end soon. His brother, Dave came up to him and told him to thrash his side all around the park in the second innings. Mike did just that and scored 118 in the second innings.

10. Fastest to 1000 runs:

It took just 166 days for Mike Hussey in International cricket to reach the landmark of 1000 runs, the fastest ever in terms of number of days taken. He reached the 2000 mark in just 20 matches (33 innings), the fourth fastest in the history of Test cricket.

11. Fastest to top 10:

Hussey was also the fastest player to reach the top 10 of the ICC ratings. He was the top ranked ODI batsman in 2006.

12. Ashes:

Mike Hussey was a part of the Australian team that drubbed England 5-0 in the 2006-07 Ashes series. He averaged 105.25 in the Ashes that year.

13. Winning the big semi-final:

Australia played Pakistan in the semi-final match of 2010 World T20. Chasing 192 to win, Australia reached a stage when they needed 17 off the last 5 balls with Hussey on strike. Saeed Ajmal had the ball in hand and Hussey finished things off in herculean style for his team, hitting 6, 6, 4, 6! He remained unbeaten on 60 off just 24 balls.

14. The IPL juggernaut:

Hussey became the 2^nd player to score an IPL century when he hit 116 against the Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural edition of the IPL. In the 2013 edition of the IPL, he scored 733 runs in 17 matches and was the leading run-getter of the season.

15. Personal life:

He is married to Amy Hussey and has four children. His brother David Hussey has also played for Australia. His father was an athletics coach, no wonder why his sons were into sports.

16. Favorite sports team:

Hussey is an ardent fan of Manchester United and that comes from the fact that his father, too, was a big fan of the football club.

17. Major Teams:

He has represented 3 county teams and has been associated with two IPL teams in his career. The teams that he has played for are- Australia, Chennai Super Kings, Durham, Gloucestershire, Mumbai Indians, Northamptonshire, Sydney Thunder, Western Australia.

18. The senior role:

He served as the batting consultant of the South African team when they toured India in 2015. He then went on to be the batting consultant of the Australian team during the 2016 World T20.