OTD | Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey was born in 1975

On this day, back in 1975, former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey was born, who has played all forms of cricket and has taken his side to the epitome of the level. The star cricketer is widely known as “Mr Cricket” owing to his encyclopedic knowledge of his sport. Interestingly, Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the ODIs and Test teams, as he made his debut at the age of 28 and 30, respectively, with 15,313 first-class runs before making the Test debut.

Mike Hussey was a crucial member of the 2007 World Cup, the 2006 Champions Trophy, and the 2009 Champions Trophy won by the Aussies. Notably, the star batter has a highly successful international career and was the top-ranked ODI batter in the world back in 2006. The star cricketer gained his Cricket Australia contract in 2004–05 after his magnificent ING Cup.

Speaking about his international career, Hussey made his ODI debut for the Aussies against India on February 1, 2004, at his home WACA ground in Perth, where he made crucial 17 runs to defeat a strong Indian side. He later became ODI Player of the Year at the award ceremony held in Mumbai on November 3, 2006. 

Hussey also got the chance to lead the Aussies in the absence of Ricky Ponting back in 2006 against the West Indies. In addition, the dashing batter played a great role in guiding the Aussies towards the win during the 2007 Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series, where he single-handedly destroyed New Zealand and England bowlers.

Meanwhile, Hussey led the Aussies in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after selectors rested skipper Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. In addition, he also got a place himself in the 2011 World Cup, but hosts India knocked out the Aussies in the semi-finals and ultimately became the winners. However, the star batter retired from international cricket after the 2012 Boxing Day.

Also read: IPL legend Sunil Narine was born in 1988