Mr. Cricket has decided to call time on his international career following the conclusion of Australia’s ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka.CRICNEWS
The left-hander’s decision comes as a surprise to many, after the national team lost the services of former skipper Ricky Ponting at the end of the South African series earlier in the month.
The upcoming Sydney Test, which begins from January 3, will be his 79th but unfortunately will also be his last for the Down Under giants. He is expected to carry on playing for his domestic sides, notably Warriors and Perth Scorcher, before making a call at the end of the current season.
"I was quite excited to tell them [his family] this morning that I'm not going to go away and play for Australia anymore. They were happy but not as excited as I thought they were going to be, so it was a bit of a shock," Hussey told Channel Nine. "One thing about playing for Australia is, it's always a lot of stress and a lot of pressure to perform and I feel like I'll come into this Test match [Sydney] with no pressure whatsoever, just go out there and enjoy it."
Commonly known as Mr Cricket, his absence will greatly dent Australia’s aspiration to claim the no.1 Test ranking and regain the Ashes trophy. The Kangaroos will travel to India in February before touring arch-rivals England in middle of next year.
That further leaves the management with a task to reconstruct the middle-order, which is now expected to have at least one more new name. Phillip Hughes was recently named as Ponting’s permanent replacement in the Test side, and he is likely to be joined by his former New South Wales teammate, Usman Khawaja, who had been included in the squad as a cover for skipper Michael Clarke.
"Michael has had a fine career - he has been a great player, a great team player and has always been a great person, on and off the field," CA chairman Wally Edwards said.
Since making his debut in 2004, the 37-year-old featured in 185 ODIs for his side, scoring 5442 runs at an impressive average of 48.15. In the longer version, his current tally stands at 6138 at 51.52.
The upcoming Sydney Test, which begins from January 3, will be his 79th but unfortunately will also be his last for the Down Under giants. He is expected to carry on playing for his domestic sides, notably Warriors and Perth Scorcher, before making a call at the end of the current season.
"I was quite excited to tell them [his family] this morning that I'm not going to go away and play for Australia anymore. They were happy but not as excited as I thought they were going to be, so it was a bit of a shock," Hussey told Channel Nine. "One thing about playing for Australia is, it's always a lot of stress and a lot of pressure to perform and I feel like I'll come into this Test match [Sydney] with no pressure whatsoever, just go out there and enjoy it."
Commonly known as Mr Cricket, his absence will greatly dent Australia’s aspiration to claim the no.1 Test ranking and regain the Ashes trophy. The Kangaroos will travel to India in February before touring arch-rivals England in middle of next year.
That further leaves the management with a task to reconstruct the middle-order, which is now expected to have at least one more new name. Phillip Hughes was recently named as Ponting’s permanent replacement in the Test side, and he is likely to be joined by his former New South Wales teammate, Usman Khawaja, who had been included in the squad as a cover for skipper Michael Clarke.
"Michael has had a fine career - he has been a great player, a great team player and has always been a great person, on and off the field," CA chairman Wally Edwards said.
Since making his debut in 2004, the 37-year-old featured in 185 ODIs for his side, scoring 5442 runs at an impressive average of 48.15. In the longer version, his current tally stands at 6138 at 51.52.
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