Goodbye Mr Cricket?

Mike Hussey is known as Mr Cricket. He lives and breathes the game is is an utter perfectionist. We he first broke into the test ranks for Australia he made tons of runs at an average of about 80. Not quite Bradmanesque but pretty close. Lately he hasn't done too well with the bat. He's always been a good fielder but he doesn't take as many catches as he should. Not that he's dropping them. He just doesn't lay a finger on them. I was wondering about his eyesight, actually.

Then Ricky Ponting spotted something in Hussey's technique that was flawed following the second test at Lords. In the subsequent tour match Hussey was in the runs once again. All seemed well in the world.

Fast forward to the third test at Edgbaston. Hussey, first ball he faces, leaves and is bowled. If that isn't the old flaw rearing its ugly head it must be a new one. My father was always disgusted when a batsman was bowled after leaving a ball. "You've got a bat so use it" he would say. I couldn't agree more. Hit the bloody thing I say.

If Hussey doesn't do a Graeme Wood in the second innings, i.e. score a century just when it looks like he's about to be dumped, I'd say he's close to being dumped. And that would be a tragedy.

I don't know if I've been bowled after leaving a ball or not. Going back a few years, about 1992 I'd say, I was playing a match for North Gambier C grade at Wandilo against Dartmoor (I think). It was the first match of the season and the captain decided to have me open the innings. Not being one to throw my wicket away, my father told me to value my wicket, I batted steadily. After making 30 in 30 overs, not an overwhelming effort in a 42 overs-a-side one day match, I stretched forward to an outswinger, left it and next thing I knew the umpire said I was out. A glance back to the stumps and I noticed that my stumps had been broken. But there was no way it could possibly have hit the stumps so I was incredulous. I even asked square leg what had happened and he said that the wicket keeper had taken the ball in front of the stumps and broken them. That's not out by the rules. So I headed back to the crease as square leg had said that I wasn't out. David Cooper, the umpire at the bowler's end at the time, insisted that I was out and raised his finger. As I was heading off even the wicket keeper called me back but Cooper was having none of it. I'm pretty sure that I've not spoken to him since.

Nick, can you tell me what the hell happened?

Moral of the story is really - you have a bat so use it.