It seemed almost a matter of destiny that the first game for Mike Hussey as an assistant coach in England colours for the Twenty20 World Cup would feature the sort of incident that can divide observers along national lines.
Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade’s instinctive attempt to fend off Mark Wood when the England spearhead had a chance to try to claim a return catch did not result in his dismissal after Jos Buttler declined to appeal for obstructing the field.
Mike Hussey with the England team as an assistant coach for the Twenty20 World Cup campaign.Credit:Getty Images
Diplomatically, Buttler reasoned it was because “I thought we’re here for a long time in Australia, so [it’s] a risky one to go for so early in the trip”.
But Hussey, looking on with the England team coached by his countryman Matthew Mott, saw it as a moment in which the onus might have been placed much more squarely on the umpires to assess Wade’s action than Buttler to be asked what his outstretched arms meant.
“My understanding is the umpires asked Jos if he wanted to appeal and Jos said ‘oh don’t worry about it’,” Hussey told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. “But it would have been interesting if it was just left to the third umpire to make a decision, because I felt as though, watching, he certainly impeded the bowler from a chance to take the catch.
“I’m sure if he was given out the crowd would have got involved a bit there. But it almost needed to be taken out of Jos’ hands and just be left to the third umpire or the umpires out there to make a call on what they thought.
“Obstructing the field doesn’t happen very often at all … I probably would have appealed.”
That Buttler was asked by the umpires at all was of some import, as the current convention among international umpires is simply to make a decision if they feel an appeal has been made. International captains, some years ago, asked for that responsibility to be taken from them.
For Hussey, Buttler’s response underlined the combination of fierce determination and relational skills that he had admired since the pair played together for the Sydney Thunder some years ago.
“He comes across as that quiet, calm, mild-mannered kind of guy, but you shouldn’t be mistaking the competitiveness in him,” Hussey said. “You see that with the way he bats, but he also has a great desire to win and lead this side well.
“It was pretty good thinking I guess to have that clarity of thinking in a pressure situation, to be able to think about the long game rather than that one incident.”
In more recent times, Hussey’s coaching with Chennai in the IPL has had him cross paths with the likes of Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey and Mark Wood, all helpful when Mott called up to ask if he would join the England coaching staff.
“I was just on holiday down in south WA and Motty called out of the blue and said ‘what do you reckon’,” Hussey said. “There’s been a bit of change with Motty coming in as coach and Eoin Morgan retired from white ball cricket as well.
“I know listening to Jos Buttler talk, there’s been so much good work done in the past but we’ve got to keep moving forward as well, and he’s all about talking about ‘let’s take the great things that have happened in the past but let’s keep looking forward and playing what’s in front of us’.”
To see Hussey decked out in the England training kit, Three Lions and all, was jarring for some who remember him not only as one of Australia’s most dependable and adaptable batters, but also as the team song master between 2007 and 2012.
Then again, the moniker of “Mr Cricket” always suggested something a little more universal than the ultra partisanship of some teammates. And, heck, if Matthew Hayden can work as an assistant coach for Pakistan…
“I was a little bit nervous to see what the reaction might be last night, and I must admit when I first got the training gear and put the shirt on I thought ’oh it feels a little bit weird,” Hussey said. “But then you just get to work.
“There’s a bigger picture than just Australia versus England and your allegiance to Australia over England. I don’t mind who I’m coaching, whether it’s helping Indians, Australians, Englishmen, Dutch, whoever it is. I just like watching players develop.”
And in the context of a role where he is only with England’s players for about a month, there are limits to what can be achieved in the building of rapport and trust during that time – Hussey knows he’s no magic elixir for the team’s Cup campaign.
“There’s only so much you can do,” he said. “I’ve worked with some of the guys in the IPL so there is some level of relationship there, but it is difficult to come in and make a big impact.
“But these guys know their own games so much that you don’t want to come in and change too many things either. Part of the job of being a coach is not to stuff them up!”
Suggesting Wade was out, while also thinking Buttler did the diplomatic thing by not insisting on an appeal, cannot hurt Hussey’s chances of building some London bridges.
