Michael Hussey - best ODI batsman in the world?

[andyc]

Michael Hussey> New Zealand

 

[Johnners]

His innings in the 400+ game was nothing to be sniffed at either!!! 80 from just 53

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

oh yeah? he is playing brilliantly but comparing him to an amalgam of ponting and tendulkar doesn't sound like a bit much to you?

Well, he really said that he had the "class" of Ponting and Tendulkar, not that he was as good as them.

 

[sqwerty]

I know we're talking ODI's here but as I have constantly maintained for the last 12 months or so:

IF HUSSEY PLAYED IN THE LAST ASHES SERIES AUSTRALIA WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY STILL HOLD THE ASHES !

 

[Sanz]

Hussey has been great so far, but 30 odd ODIs are not enough to declare him the best ODI batsmen in the world. If I am not wrong, he is yet to play in the subcontinent, wasn't any special in SA either. In other words, NOT YET.

 

[Jono]

I'm prettu sure the Huss can fly.

 

[brindyman]

Right now, he's the best in the world. Where he will go down in history, and whether he can fall in the Sachin-Viv-Bevan class, only time will tell.

i dont think he will ever quiet get to sachin viv bevan class truely from the fact that he is now 30 (sachin was 18 i think???) when he joined the australian team...but playing the way he is i dont doubt he is gonna give it a bloody good shot.

 

[honestbharani]

hasn't played in all conditions yet, hasn't faced all bowling attacks yet. And even if he keeps up, I still tend to think Bevan played against better attacks than Hussey has done. But he is an awesome player, of that there is no doubt and perhaps the most prized wicket going around right now in world cricket.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

I know we're talking ODI's here but as I have constantly maintained for the last 12 months or so:

LAST ASHES SERIES AUSTRALIA I CAN'T GET OVER IT!! MUMMY MUMMY! HUSSEY!

 

[Mister Wright]

Yes.

 

[SJS]

Michael Hussey - best ODI batsman in the world......... for week starting 18th September 2006?

Yes indeed

....so far at least

 

[Matt79]

He's certainly the best right now - even if he falls away, or more likely gradually gets pulled somewhat back to the field, he's already had one of the great form streaks in cricket history, that should be remembered alongside Botham and Viv's peaks (not saying better than, but comparable). He's set a new standard and in years to come, comparisons like "Hussey-esque", or "Hussque" as I'd abbreviate it, will be thick on the ground.

 

[SJS]

Hussey has so far scored

- 1265 runs in

- 32 innings

- (15 not outs) at an average of

- 84 .33 each (36 hours ago it was 1156 at 77 each) at a strike rate of

- 98.98 with

- 10 scores above fifty inclusive of
- 1 hundred
​

Its a fantastic record.

At the end of Englands match against Sri Lanka at the Oval this June, Pietersen had scored

- 1262 runs in

- 26 innings

- (6 not outs) at an average of

- 63.1 at a strike rate of

- 97.98 !!! with

- 11 scores above fifty inclusive of

- 3 hundreds
​

Remarkable figures again More than comparable except for the not outs and consequent difference in the batting average.

Since then Pietersens average has slid to mid fifties.

The point I am making is that Hussey's stats, VERY impressive as they no doubt are, can not be considered so unprecedented that we need to coin a new term for such a performance.

18 of his 32 innings are played at number 7 and a3 of these are unbeaten giving him an average of 132+ at that position in thr order. As Australia send him higher up the order, as they are bound to do with time, the not outs will reduce and the average will be a bit less "Hussysque".

I must repeat that I am not trying to downplay a really exciting batsman who could well turn out to one of the all time greats in the shorter version of the game but I am afraid I dont see how he automatically qualifies as the est batsman even in 2006 even with his batting average of 60.1 for the year so far.

 

[Matt79]

I guess there's an compelling element to his play that isn't fully captured in his stats but seems to be evident to most people when they watch him. The same is probably true of Pieterson, but perhaps to a lesser extent?

Perhaps also because Hussey's performances seem to directly lead to wins, whereas wins for England are a bit thinner on the ground?

 

[SJS]

Perhaps also because Hussey's performances seem to directly lead to wins, whereas wins for England are a bit thinner on the ground?

Thats true.

But changes in batting order make a huge difference to batting averages.

Pietersen batted only at 5 or 6 till about the last week of June last year. At that time he was averaging 133 !!

After that he has been pushed up to 4 (all except 2 innings) and his average has plummetted to mid fifties !!

Hussey till mid Feb this year, was batting mostly at 7 and a few times at 6 and averaged in three figures.

Since then he has batted at 4, 5 and 6 (just one innings at 7) and average has slid 20 points. As he bats higher up, he will get more hundreds but his average will even out at more consistent levels.

I also feel that when he bats higher up the order and takes charge of an innings as a senior batsman his real worth will be appreciated. The total match situation and the apprach required from the batsman is different if he comes to bat in the first ten overs or in the last 20. The last 20 is tough in weaker teams but not that bad in strong teams like Australia. Again this is mentioned not to run down Hussey but just to highlight the differnece in batting situations.

 

[Matt79]

OK - stats challenge for you then. How does Hussey's ratio of not outs to innings compare to other number 7's around the world? I suspect it would be higher than the norm because he does the job of accelerating the innings at the end whilst almost never throwing away his wicket.

 

[SJS]

OK - stats challenge for you then. How does Hussey's ratio of not outs to innings compare to other number 7's around the world? I suspect it would be higher than the norm because he does the job of accelerating the innings at the end whilst almost never throwing away his wicket.

You cant compare Hussey with ANY number seven in the world because no other team has such a high class batsman coming regularly at number seven. Of course if he was not a batsman of such high caliber he would get out more often even with less than 20 (or15) overs left.

 

[Matt79]

So its invalid to use a stat like that to argue for or against his greatness? Then there should be no more qualifiers in discussions of his records about the numbers of NOs he has accumulated - surely he's accumulated no more NOs than any batsman of his calibre would batting at number 7.

 

[SJS]

So its invalid to use a stat like that to argue for or against his greatness? Then there should be no more qualifiers in discussions of his records about the numbers of NOs he has accumulated - surely he's accumulated no more NOs than any batsman of his calibre would batting at number 7.

Of course.

I am not arguing AGAINST his not outs. That would be STUPID. I dont expect him to throw away his wicket in order to have FEWER not outs !!!!!

I was just putting in context his average. You dont have to bother about me. Just look at how his average has dropped over the last year and keep watching where it goes. As he moves above the order his chances of getting out will increase by the sheer probability factor of having to face more deliveries.

The dropping of that average will not make him a lesser batsman and that has NOT been my point from the beginning of this argument (which I am ending after this anyway) but about the "Husseysque" nature of the statistics which are being used to claim that he is a unique phenomenon

Ten scores of fifty plus in 32 innings and a single century is a very good recored but not likely to cause a Tsunami.

But if with those figures you also have a three digit batting average, one needs to understand how?

When a batsman plays 32 matches and has a three figure average at the end of it with a highest score of 88 and 8 fifties and NO CENTURIES , it would be prudent to look at the figures a bit more closely than elevating him to a place (for that what it sounds like) where he may yet not have arrived. Thats what it sounds like when the first ever word from a cricketer's name (Bradmanesque) is followed by another "Hussysque".

Take away Bradman's not outs from his records and his average would drop from 99.9 to 87.5. Thats STILL BRADMANESQUE.

Take away the not outs from Hussey's figures and his average plummets by 50 percent ! Very very impressive still (though they are for the beginning of a career and not for a complete career) but Bradmanesque ? - no. Pietersenesque ? - sure.

I rest my case.

You may have the last word

 

[Goughy]

The most amazing thing, for me, about Hussey is that in his 41 ODIs he has been dismissed for under 20 only 6 times and 3 of those were run outs.

He is very consistent and hardly ever fails.

What a great weapon to have.

Compared to other fast scorers

Afridi- Last 40 ODIs Dismissed 21 times less than 20 (1 runout)
Pietersen- All 38 Games Dismissed 10 times less than 20 (0 runouts)
Dhoni- 50 career ODI games Dismissed 18 times less than 20 (3 runouts)

Hussey has proved to be virtually impossible for a bowler to dismiss early.

Whether it is a prolonged run of form or for real is the $1000 000 question