Michael Hussey - best ODI batsman in the world?

[FaaipDeOiad]

Do people here think it's fair to call him the best in the world yet?

After today's unbelievable innings, I think it's hard to find comparisons for him any more. Obviously there's some parts of the world he hasn't played in yet and some bowlers he hasn't faced, but I think that, with the possible exception of Bevan, there's not been such a complete batsman in the modern ODI era. He puts a huge price on his wicket and can drag the team out of difficult situations or score on difficult wickets, and he's also among the best in the world in terms of late over acceleration and can hit the first ball of his innings. On top of that, he's close to the best runner between the wickets in world cricket, and his placement of bread and butter singles is unbelievable.

In terms of the obvious comparison to Bevan, I'd be hesitant to call him better because of his hitting ability, for the simple reason that a lot of batsmen in world cricket are hitting the ball better than batsmen of similar skill used to. It's fair to say though that Bevan never possessed the capability to hit the huge sixes off any sort of bowling that Hussey can, for one reason or another. Obviously Bevan's placement abilities for boundary scoring was peerless, though.

[age_master]

Hussey is vastly better then Bevan for mine - as good at placing the ball and a better hitter - could bat anywhere. Better attitude is another key difference.

[FaaipDeOiad]

Originally Posted by age_master

Hussey is vastly better then Bevan for mine - as good at placing the ball and a better hitter - could bat anywhere. Better attitude is another key difference.

Bevan proved himself for 250+ games against all opposition and played some of the best ODI innings ever seen. There's no comparison yet in terms of rating them over their whole careers. Hussey is certainly following in Bevan's footsteps unbelievably well, and he's got the extra acceleration to keep up with the changes in ODI cricket as well.

[Nnanden]

Still could fail, but at the moment, easily yes.

[Perm]

The guy has only played 41 ODI matches and had 32 innings, a bit early to be comparing him to some of the best in the world who have performed brilliantly for over 250 ODI's (Bevan). Still I think he is shaping up as perhaps one of the best there has ever been, especially at finishing and innings. But what amazed me today was that his SR was 100 before he had even hit a 6 (he was on about 80 or something), that just shows a great ability not to get bogged down during the middle overs of a match and be able to rotate the strike expertly. His innings today was pure gold.

[Hoggy31]

He's the best player in the world.

[_TiGeR-ToWn_]

He is a more complete and all-round player then Bevan. They are/were great pushes and rotators of the strike, they both play exceptionaly well with the lower order and have faith in them, and they both get the team out of sticky situations all too often. But what makes Hussey the better player, at the moment, is the fact he has the power which is all so important in today's game. We will see how he goes for the rest of his career, and see if a team is able to find a fault but at the moment he is a terrifc and sensational batsman to watch.

[pasag]

Easily the best player in the world.

[age_master]

Bevan batted selfishly in alot of the innings he did play, particularly later in his career.

[Steulen]

ATM there's no-one better than Hussey, surely.

Career comparisons are too early, but today's innings was Bevanesque in the way he found the gaps, used imaginative shots (hard to find a better reverse sweep than today's one), and clubbed a huge six out of the stadium for good measure.

[adharcric]

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.

[andyc]

I'd say he's the best in the world today, and pretty confidently too. Decent average, too, at 84.33

[Complicated]

In a sense he has an advantage over those players because he started international cricket so much later. He never had to deal with the teething problems those players did when they came onto the international scene.

He has been absolutely awesome over the last year though.

[Steulen]

Originally Posted by Complicated

In a sense he has an advantage over those players because he started international cricket so much later. He never had to deal with the teething problems those players did when they came onto the international scene.

He has been absolutely awesome over the last year though.

That's becoming a bigger mystery by the day. How can someone so good be ignored for so long?

[Johnners]

The fact that the team was successful for so long... and he did have a few lean years back when Lehman & Katich got their 1st Baggy Greens.