Aussie veterans walk tightrope in Tests

7 Apr 2012, 1:22 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Australian batsman Michael Hussey. (AAP)

Australian batsman Michael Hussey. (AAP)

The stakes couldn't be higher in the Caribbean for Australian batting veterans Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting.

The stakes couldn't be higher in the Caribbean for Australian batting veterans Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting.

The two old men of Australian cricket know their international careers may well come to an end very quickly if they fail to deliver in the three Test series against the West Indies.

Ponting has bought himself some time with his career revival, smashing 544 runs including two centuries to be the second-highest run-scorer in the summer's 4-0 drubbing of India.

But the 37-year-old's subsequent axing from Australia's one-day team shows how quickly he could find himself under pressure if he fails to maintain that form in the Caribbean.

Hussey has also had to answer plenty of questions about his place in the team since the 2009 Ashes series but finished 2011 as Australia's top Test run-scorer for the calendar year including a man-of-the-series display in the three-match campaign in Sri Lanka.

The 36-year-old insists he still has the passion and drive to play for Australia and feels he can't think about his age when he gets out on the field.

"I don't want to come into it thinking that if I don't perform I'm going to be out of the team," Hussey told reporters in Barbados on Friday.

"I still believe that I'm still part of something that we're trying to build, trying to get us back to the No.1 team in the world.

"There's enough pressure on all the guys to perform anyway in Test match cricket or international cricket without having extra pressure on yourself by thinking that you have to perform or else you'll be out."

What has possibly saved Hussey and Ponting from the axe has been the lack of real competition from young hopefuls trying to press their way into the team.

Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith are among those to have opportunities to lead the way for the next generation only to fall short.

But Hussey, who had to amass over 15,000 First Class runs before making his Test debut in 2005, says the benchmark players should be measured by might be too high in modern-day cricket.

"I personally believe that we have got some very fine players that given an opportunity would do very well in international cricket," he said.

"The landscape has slightly changed whereas when I was growing up players needed to score over a 1000 runs (a year) ... nowadays it seems like there are a lot more result pitches through First Class cricket so, as you would expect, the statistics would come down and maybe a 700 run season is considered an excellent season."

But after having to work so hard to achieve his dream of Test cricket for Australia, Hussey is not yet ready to abdicate his place in the team to one of those young pretenders.

"Perhaps where I'm at now is a new phase of my career where I have to still continue to perform and play my role in the team but I've also got to try and impart some of my experience of international cricket onto some of the newer guys coming into the team," he said.

"And, as I said, try to help the team get back to being No.1 in the world."
 

Test Cricket , Mike Hussey , Ricky Ponting

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