Colombo: Australia captain George Bailey believes the decision to move Mike Hussey to the number three position in the batting line up has paid off well and the veteran batsman is slowly killing the opposition teams without making a major fuss.
Without drawing much attention to himself, Hussey has accumulated 137 runs and been dismissed once in four innings leading into tonight`s semi-final against the West Indies.
Hussey has made these runs in Shane Watson`s shadow but is still striking at 120 runs per 100 balls.
“That`s exactly why we`ve given him the role at No. 3,” a leading Australian daily quoted Bailey, as saying.
“Probably a little bit like (Mahela) Jayawardene, he`s just so dangerous. He is someone who you might not be feeling like he`s hurting you but suddenly you look up at the scoreboard and he has just ticked along,” he added.
“It`s a bit of bluff. For what his strike-rate is, he`d be pretty damaging. When he does need to, he`s very, very good at finding boundaries. What he`s really good at is making them look less risky than the rest of us,” he said.
Hussey was pushed up to No. 3 in the Caribbean earlier this year, in a break from the finishing role in which he built his reputation as one of the world`s most dangerous limited-overs players.
Bailey added: “He has done a lot of his T20 batting for Australia at six but, in terms of what we want from him, if he can bat around a Davey Warner or a Shane Watson, the way he builds his innings and builds a partnership, it makes perfect sense.”
Australia face West Indies on Friday in the second semifinal of the Twenty20 World Cup, and the winner would face host nation Sri Lanka in the final.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.