Michael Hussey - best ODI batsman in the world?

[Matt79]

sorry SJS, I was being at least partially facetious. I do always admire your stats work and the interesting commentary you provide.

The Hussque thing was a pun, but I do stand by my point that this run of form, even if it doesn't last, will not soon be forgotten. All that remains is for him to win player of the Cup next year in the Caribbean...

 

[SJS]

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.

Oh he is a fantastic batsman and whats really impressive is that even when coming at n umber 7 match after match, he goes about playing with such enthusiasm and gusto without the crude heaves that batsmen sometimes resort to late in limited over games.

We have seen in India, batsmen like Yuvraj blaming their position in the batting order (mostly it was6 and sometimes 7) for their poor performance. The press and their supporters agreed whole heartedly.

Here is a supremely talented batsman (Hussey) who comes at number seven and he goes about doing such a fantastic job. That to me is the difference between an Australian's attitude to the game and the 'so-called' Indian professionals.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

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.

Agreed, that is remarkable. It's part of his versatility really. You can almost certain that whether Hussey comes in at 5/50 after 20 overs or at 5/300 after 46, he will make a valuable contribution that is suited the needs of the side. In 18 months in the ODI side he has almost never failed to contribute.

I think also that when you look at Hussey's not outs, you have to consider that Bevan, who is almost without question among the 5 best ODI batsmen ever, also had a large number of not outs. Indeed, he was not out 67 times in ODIs, which is the most of any player ever. Take away those not outs and his average drops from 53.58 to 35.27. I think everyone would agree though that Bevan was a far better ODI batsman than an average of 35 would indicate.

 

[Mister Wright]

Agreed, that is remarkable. It's part of his versatility really. You can almost certain that whether Hussey comes in at 5/50 after 20 overs or at 5/300 after 46, he will make a valuable contribution that is suited the needs of the side. In 18 months in the ODI side he has almost never failed to contribute.

I think also that when you look at Hussey's not outs, you have to consider that Bevan, who is almost without question among the 5 best ODI batsmen ever, also had a large number of not outs. Indeed, he was not out 67 times in ODIs, which is the most of any player ever. Take away those not outs and his average drops from 53.58 to 35.27. I think everyone would agree though that Bevan was a far better ODI batsman than an average of 35 would indicate.

What was Bevan's strike rate?

For me, that is the only thing that distracts from Bevan's career. Yes he was an amazing closer and pulled victories from nowhere often, however he did seem very selfish and his inability to up the tempo when needed on occasions, particularly towards the end of his career was a downfall IMO.

That is what makes Hussey so much better. He can bat at 7 and come in in the 47th over and hit the big ones when needed, he can also come in at number 4/5 and play a longer innings and still finish with a strike rate of over 100.

 

[PhoenixFire]

I guess at the moment Hussey is the best ODI player in the world, bar maybe KP when he puts his mind to it.

IMO, having seen both of them for a long while know, Hussey is the better player than Bevan, due to the fact that Hussey can score a lot quicker when he really wants to, he has the ability to pull the 85mph bowlers for 6 through midwicket with ease, when he wants to.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Bit early for talk like that. Hussey might be better at playing the short pacey stuff but Aneurin is (was) a ODI great. Let's see how he goes.

He is bloody good but.

 

[SJS]

I think everyone would agree though that Bevan was a far better ODI batsman than an average of 35 would indicate.

Oh yes but when you are taking an average (without considering not outs), to make it comparative, you may want to make an allowance (positive) for the normal rate of not outs.

Its very interssting to see that there is a clear relationship between the batting order of a batsman and the percentage of unbeaten innings.

I have taken 12 of the top ODI players in history and plotted their average (weighted) batting order (both opening positions being 1) against the percentage of unbeaten innings.

As can be seen there is a clear relationship between the two. As a batsman comes lower down the order, his chances of remaining not out increase. Nothing surprising about that. It was obvious even before I collated the figures.

It can also be seen that some players have a higher percentage than the trend (the black line is a linear trend line). Dean Jones, Sarwan, Bevan and most strikingly Hussey are in this lot.

Then there are those like Viv Richards and Zaheer Abbas who have relatively fewer unbeaten innings.

PS : Not able to "Manage Attachments" any one knows why ??

For example, here are the averages of some of the top limited overs players with and without not outs.

 

[SJS]

Ah, here they are at last.

 

[Beleg]

In my opinion, the best ODI bastmen are,

1. Hussey
2. Inzamam
3. Ponting

 

[open365]

Ah, here they are at last.

You should work for cricinfo...

 

[kwigibo]

The question now is, when is D.J. Hussey going to get a game?

 

[Mister Wright]

The question now is, when is D.J. Hussey going to get a game?

Unless he actually does something this season, I can't see him getting selected. Not consistent enough.

 

[Johnners]

Unless he actually does something this season, I can't see him getting selected. Not consistent enough.

Spot on, he's shown that he's definetly got talent.. but as we see so often talent doesn't always lead to results. He did have 2 very good seasons in 03/04 and 04/05 and i expected him to build on them and have a ripper in 05/06 but alas it didn't happen.

 

[Nate]

He`s been going pretty well in his last few matches.

I`m more excited about Rogers to be honest. Seems to have turned a corner.

 

[Nate]

But yeah, Mike. Absolutely insane, my favourite batsman to watch by a mile. Can do anything, hit anywhere. Bats unselfishly and can bat anywhere. I really, really love him.

 

[Nate]

Haha, I love on Nady`s YouTube video, where it shows the field, and Slats goes 'There`s some new gaps here, this`ll be his hitting zone' and draws lines pointing out point and cover. Hussey just smashes it over mid-wicket.

 

[kwigibo]

Unless he actually does something this season, I can't see him getting selected. Not consistent enough.

His FC form nosedived, and I'm not suggesting him for the longer form, but he's one of the most effective List A players going, even on recent form.

ING cup 05/06

Mat I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50
10 10 3 535 130 76.42 92.08 1 4

His Notts figures haven't been quite so good this year, but if the Aussie selectors really payed any attention to county cricket Mike would have been on 2 Ashes tours already.

 

[kwigibo]

Actually, his FC season for Notts hasn't been too bad

Mat I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50
16 26 4 1102 164 50.09 61.59 5 1

So they can pick him for away tests and VB series games.

 

[pietersenrocks]

Yes,he is the best batsman in the world ever

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Yes, he is better than intravenous "horse".