Mr. Cricket disappointed at missing ICC 2011 World Cup
Australia is set to play the World Cup without one of their star players, who has been the central force in many of their greatest triumphs in recent years.
Mr. Cricket, Mike Hussey, has been ruled out of the tournament set to start on the 19th of this month. The left handed batsman was left out of the squad despite his pleas that he could recover during the tournament and be included
in the playing eleven after the first three matches.
The Aussies had adopted similar tactics in the last edition of the premier tournament held in Caribbean in 2007.
At that time big-hitting all-rounder, Andrew Symonds, tore his biceps off the bone a month before the tournament yet he was retained in the team and made his presence felt with some impressive performances in the crucial super eights matches.
The Aussies went on to win the tournament comfortably, with Symonds recovering brilliantly to lead his team to major triumph, which gave them their third World Cup title in a row.
Hussey had hoped that the Aussies would adopt a similar plan and have him included in the team. He was confident that he would have played a stellar role once he would have gotten in the groove.
"The precedent has sort of been set from the last time with Andrew Symonds", Hussey told reporters. "He came in about the third or the fourth game in the previous World Cup and played a really big part in our team, he was an important part
of the team”.
Hussey added that he was more than capable of doing a similar job for his team as his injury was on the path to recovery. The left handed batsman tore his hamstring muscle in the opening match of the seven match ODI series against England,
which the hosts won at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He was left perplexed at the decision to drop him. The Aussie selection panel led by Andrew Hilditch has included Callum Ferguson in his place as the triple world champions prepare to depart to the Subcontinent.
"I was hoping that would be the same sort of thing for me really - that they'd give me every chance to have a crack at it at least. I thought I could push for the second game and definitely be right for the third game".
Hussey has been one of the pivots of Australian batting in recent years. He has been performing consistently in all formats of the game including the ODI variety.
He has thus far featured in 151 games for his team in the format scoring 4469 runs at an average of nearly 52 runs per innings, he has scored 2 hundreds and 33 fifties and strikes the ball at a highly impressive 88 runs per 100 balls.
Australia would start their title defence with a game against Zimbabwe at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the 21st of February.
They are virtually assured of a place in the knock-out round due to the easy format of the event. Ricky Ponting’s men would only need to beat minnows Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada in their pool games to ensure a place in the knock-out round
of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Aussies would have to make do without their most talented and determined middle order batsman and his absence is likely to be most felt in the knock out stages when the pressure is set to take its toll on the defending champions.
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