Mike Hussey to retire at end of summer.

[Agent Nationaux]

One of the nicest Aus players and always scared me since he did well against us.

[Cabinet96]

Interesting to note Hussey never missed a test in between his debut and last test? The only person who I can think off who played more games while never missing a test is Gilchrist.

[GingerFurball]

Has Cook missed any Tests since his debut?

[Cabinet96]

He missed what would have been his second test in India, but hasn't missed one since.

[Coronis]

Australia is seriously in trouble now. We may need a few miracles.

[Contra]

Completely caught off guard by this one, and not to nitpick in his retirement topic, but there is something a little bit weird about quitting just before 2 of the toughest tours out there.

Anyhow solid player, average flatters him a bit in tests, but was a total beast in limited overs cricket, second behind Dhoni over the last 5-6 years IMO. Speaking of, did he say he was gonna quit limited overs too or just tests?

[howardj]

Stunned at this news

Very rare for a player to retire these days, other than when it's proceeded by a run of dismal form (e.g. Ponting)

Very much going out on his own terms

And will be impossible to replace

Our Ashes stocks, and our prospects on the tour of India, have taken a massive hit

Great bloke, very good player

[andyc]

Completely caught off guard by this one, and not to nitpick in his retirement topic, but there is something a little bit weird about quitting just before 2 of the toughest tours out there.

Anyhow solid player, average flatters him a bit in tests, but was a total beast in limited overs cricket, second behind Dhoni over the last 5-6 years IMO. Speaking of, did he say he was gonna quit limited overs too or just tests?

All international cricket. Has had enough with being away from the family for long periods of time, so it makes sense that he'd make the call before two big series away.

[howardj]

He seemed so child-like in his love of the game

One of the few guys, when interviewed, who doesn't come across as jaded, rehearsed or going through the motions

[NUFAN]

Will he still play in the IPL?

[Jono]

Very poor timing, but it's his career I guess.

Certainly less than ideal for the team though. I suppose he doesn't owe them anything but it would have been nice if he gave an inclination.

Yeah I love Huss - comfortably my favourite Australian cricketer post Dizzy Gillespie - and it is his life and his career so I don't have a problem with his decision at all. But I find it odd that Cricinfo and others are saying this is perfectly timed. I find ESPNCricinfo's tweet "As always, Michael Hussey gets the timing right. Yet again." quite ridiculous. Yeah so he's not being dropped or retiring after a few years of his average falling, but he's leaving his team in a pretty concerning situation heading into one big series in India (no matter how poor India are travelling, Australia playing 4 tests in India, a place they haven't won in 8 years, is a big series) and one incredibly important series in England (Ashes, duh).

I find Ponting's timing just as good. Yeah wasn't the ATG he was from 2007, or even a 50+ batsman anymore from 2009 onwards, but he certainly wasn't "more" selfish than Hussey, or get his timing any worse.

I'm sure everyone will be happy that Hussey's legacy will not be tarnished and his average nice and high, but if a new n00b Aussie batsman are struggling in the Ashes I'm sure no one will give a ****. Would have been much better if he played, even if his averaged dropped, if he contributed more than his replacement will/would.

Again I want to stress that as Hussey is retiring because he doesn't enjoy/look forward to the touring as much any longer, it is a perfectly fine, understandable and responsible decision. But I hate the fact people are praising it as some sort of example of how gun players should leave the game.

[Spark]

He's probably the closest to nailed on but his place is hardly set in stone IMO.

Hmm, he has 3 tons in about 12 Tests and has three fifties on the trot. I'd say he'll be the second most secure in the side after Clarke, really (which says quite a lot about the rest, I know)

[GingerFurball]

From a team POV the timing is absolutely terrible.

But if he can't be bothered anymore then fair play to him. It's his career after all.

[Ruckus]

Again I want to stress that as Hussey is retiring because he doesn't enjoy/look forward to the touring as much any longer, it is a perfectly fine, understandable and responsible decision. But I hate the fact people are praising it as some sort of example of how gun players should leave the game.

I think the optimal solution lies somewhere between Hussey and Ponting. Now that we can look retrospectively, Ponting's retirement was too delayed imo. Should have called it a day after the India series or maybe even well before that. Would have eased this transition period with Hussey retiring too, so one of the younger players would have been steadily gaining experience in the team by now. Like, the fact is, the reasons Ponting gave for his retirement, about not feeling he was contributing in the big moments and being inconsistent etc., could be applied to his last couple of years as a batsman. He no doubt helped us win against India, but we would have in all likelihood won that series anyway. So I'm not sure that alone (which was his only significant series for some time) was worth keeping a younger batsman like e.g. Khawaja out. They could have about 10-15 extra tests in experience by now.

[benchmark00]

I think the optimal solution lies somewhere between Hussey and Ponting. Now that we can look retrospectively, Ponting's retirement was too delayed imo. Should have called it a day after the India series or maybe even well before that. Would have eased this transition period with Hussey retiring too, so one of the younger players would have been steadily gaining experience in the team by now. Like, the fact is, the reasons Ponting gave for his retirement, about not feeling he was contributing in the big moments and being inconsistent etc., could be applied to his last couple of years as a batsman. He no doubt helped us win against India, but we would have in all likelihood won that series anyway. So I'm not sure that alone (which was his only significant series for some time) was worth keeping a younger batsman like e.g. Khawaja out. They could have about 10-15 extra tests in experience by now.

No that's ridiculous. Ponting thought he could still contribute strongly to the team, and why wouldn't he after he averaged over 100 in a test series. To say he should have retired straight after that (or before!!!) is crazy.

Pontings retirement was perfectly timed. He thought he couldn't contribute anymore and left at the end of a series and gave a new player the chance to have a go against a team that isn't a giant, in a home series before three very very big series.