Michael Hussey, also known as Mr. Cricket, addressed the media at Crowne Plaza on Saturday, before making his debut as a commentator in the India Cements Ltd TNPL 2017. Excerpts:
What are your expectations from the India Cements Ltd TNPL?
I am expecting to see some pretty good and competitive cricket. It is obviously a very famous cricketing state and it has got a rich tradition. There is a lot of motivation for the players to do well and get recognised to get picked for the Indian Premier League as well. I can’t wait to watch some of the local talent and see how they perform on the big stage. I also want to see how they handle different situations under pressure. There might just be a couple of stars for the making in the future.
How difficult is it to be a mentor and what does the team and management expect the mentor to do?
It is not difficult but it is fun. Most past players have this thing inside them that they want to give back to the game and people. This is an opportunity to help other people out there. I love talking to the younger players about the game and see what their view on the game is. I remember when David Warner first came into the Australian team, he saw the game differently to what the older players did. Also, I have been learning from the younger players as well; I like to ask them questions, see how they handle situations and see how they see the game now and in the future. Perhaps offer some of my experience to them and it is all about building up a rapport and a relationship. Luckily I was able to build up some great relationships with the people in Chennai Super Kings and now we share a bond of trust and surely we did have a lot of fun working together.
What is your suggestion to a team like Madurai Super Giant, who haven’t been able to get a win under their belt?
When you start losing, everyone in the team start getting tense and begin trying too hard. They get negative thoughts in their mind and start having meetings about what are the things they are doing wrong or bad and etc. More the negative thoughts in your mind, less the chance you have got to be successful. For me, it would be about let us make it fun again, let’s focus on the basics and do the basics well. Let us focus on the things we do well. What does our game look like when we are doing our best and try and get those positive thoughts into the minds of the players and try and help them to relax, taking the results out of it. Focus on the processing sides of things and hopefully the result will take care of itself.’
Would you be interested in some kind of role with CSK?
Of course. IPL would be wonderful to be involved. I have had great memories in the IPL and I love it. I have great friendships here and a strong rapport with CSK. If there is an opportunity, I would be very interested for sure.
CSK is coming back after two years. Will you make yourself available for the playoffs?
(laughs) No, I can definitely rule that out because I will not be coming back as a player. That is for sure. I am happily retired.
Thoughts on CSK coming back…
It is going to be a challenge for sure. I don’t think anyone knows and I think everyone in Chennai hopes the team can have the same successes in the past but two years out of the IPL is a long time. Teams have moved on, players have moved on. So it is going to be a serious challenge in the team. So what I do know from my time in CSK is that it was very well run. The owners gave the coaching staff and the players full ownership of the team, to run the team as they wanted. If they can get the right people in place, from the playing side and from the coaching side, management side of things, I don’t see any reason why CSK can’t have success again.
What do you think about Virat Kohli’s style of captaincy?
I have enjoyed watching Virat captain the Indian team and I think he has done a great job. He has got this great will to win, much like Ricky Ponting when I played. He had this desire to push his team as far as he could. He set very high standards during training and in the game, he was a very very competitive person. I draw parallels in Ponting and Virat. MS Dhoni was a wonderful captain as well, but they are different personalities because they do it in different ways. That is the good thing about Virat, he has come in and not tried to be like Dhoni. He has been a successful because he has led the team in his own way. I think that is important that he is his own personality. Sometimes, a captain only looks good as his team which he is got around him. Virat got some wonderful players to play under him and there are players who are very hungry to get an opportunity since the retirements of the guys like Sachin (Tendulkar), (VVS) Laxman, (Virender) Sehwag etc. All those legends have retired and these are younger crop of players coming through wanting an opportunity desperately and they are all quality players. I think it is a good time to be a part of the Indian team and they obviously play great cricket. I am sure there will be challenges along the way as well and the players and captain will be tested along way. But Dhoni and Virat have been great captains so far.
Do you draw parallels between the Australian team you were part of and the Indian team now?
I think once you find a winning formula, you stick with it. India have found a winning formula and they are confident. There seems to be a bit of continuity in the team. I haven’t been watching it really closely but there hasn’t been too much chopping and changing going on. It seems like they have reasonably settled. But once you get a good group of players, they get their confidence up and start believing in their captain, everyone is motivated to do well, sky is the limit. India has had a great home ground record as well which certainly the Australian team I was part in did as well. But it is sometimes a bit of a challenge to do well away from home, although India seems to be doing it pretty comfortably in Sri Lanka right now.
What will be your advice to the players in TNPL to emulate Washington Sundar and T Natarajan?
Obviously the big guns must try and do well to get picked in the IPL, like those guys have. But it can be a danger to make that your focus because you need to be focusing on the game in your hand. Whatever situation you come in, in a game, that should be your focus. No point thinking about the IPL when your team needs 8 or 9 runs an over or they need tight overs in the middle or end of the innings. It is important to keep your focus on the present and the game at hand and try and perform well every game and then hopefully the rewards will follow, like it did for Washington Sundar. It only comes from good, consistent performances and dominating the league below. That is going to be the focus and playing well, game in and game out. The rest will look after itself.
What is the way forward for MS Dhoni?
MS deserves to go out on his own terms since he has done so much for the cricket in his country. He has been a wonderful captain and a wonderful player for a long period of time. If he, in his heart believes, he can get to the next World Cup, who is the Daddy? (laughs) He is a very honest and modest man. He will be honest with himself. If he doesn’t think, he can contribute and help India win the World Cup, I don’t think he will be there. But if in his heart, he believes he can still contribute and be a positive influence on the game, I think he deserves every chance to go out there and perform because he has been a great performer for a long time.
Is fitness also a factor?
He is a fit guy and looks after himself well. He knows his body and knows his game. He has got experience and these days guys can play a lot longer than the ones in the olden days. These days fitness staff look after the players well and the players themselves take care of their bodies as well. You see players, who are well into their 30s now, do well.
Did your perspective on the game change, from Tests to T20s?
Not really. I feel I have been coaching while playing in the last 3-4 years anyway (laughs). Mentoring and coaching feels like it is the same. I have watched the game moving forward all the time and pushing the boundaries even more. That is why I am interested in talking to the current players now and getting their view about where is the game heading to. So, we can stay ahead from anyone else in that perspective. From a coach’s perspective, it feels like I am working together with the players.
What will be the key for Australia in their upcoming series against India?
A lot of Australian players are getting exposure in these conditions. That is most difficult for an Australian, coming from Australia where the pitches are pacy and bouncy to India where the pitches are slow and assist spin. The crowds and weather are different as well. The more exposure the players get in IPL or a Test series here, the better exposure they are going to get. The good thing is that a lot of players have gained exposure in these conditions. Every time they do a little better and get confidence from that. The last Test series Australia played quite well and they will get confidence from that. Hopefully, they have learnt lessons from that and they should do well in the ODI series. It is obviously tough playing India in home conditions, but I know the Australian team is highly motivated to win the series in India. We have not really done well here, but it is the real big goal in the moment. There is the Ashes and World Cup, but winning in India is a huge goal for Australia.
When you are putting together a team, what do you look for, in an upcoming player?
It depends on what you need in the squad. What you have already got and what you need for a nicely balanced team. You might be looking for a young player or a particular skill set. It can be an attacking opening batsman or an all-rounder or a good death bowler or someone who can keep cool under pressure. Most importantly, what I am looking for is character. You can improve the player’s skill or his game awareness, but a good character can add so much to the team. So when the first thing I look for is the character and then it is skill set. I don’t want the skill level to be too low but I want more people who can add to the team culture to do the team things. I also like to look for players who have two of the three skills. You must be good at two disciplines these days because it is hard to hide people on field these days. If he is like a Jacques Kallis who can bat and bowl well, then I don’t care what he does on the field (laughs). There are players who are great at three disciplines like Andre Russell for example. Fielding well these days is a must though.
What will be your advice to the youngsters, who are playing TNPL for the first time?
Just to have fun. We play these games to have fun and play the natural game. Figure out what your role is in the team and give your 100% to that role. I think the mistake I made when I was growing up was that I tried too hard and I wanted it so much that it can have a negative effect on your performance. If I am being honest, that is one of the biggest strengths of Dhoni, as a captain. He had this amazing ability, particularly with the young, Indian players who were just trying too hard. He just told those guys to relax and enjoy the game and tried to take the pressure off from the young guys as much as he could. You could see it had a positive impact on those guys.
How do you think the captaincy often takes a toll on one’s batting? Like for example, Steven Smith?
We should ask those guys (Kane Williamson, Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Joe Root) because they are doing well at this moment. (laughs) I can only go on about the guys who I have seen. Ricky Ponting is one of those. The great players have this ability to focus on what they do and not think about dealing with media, sponsors, board, players, selectors and etc. That is what I see when I see these four. They have the ability to disregard the outside distractions and focus on the job at hand.
How has Smith evolved as a batsman?
I always loved his batting, even though he was picked as a leg spinner. But he did have a slightly unusual technique and still does today. When he was first playing, I remember people telling he can’t bat like this and needs to be technically correct. He was up and down in the early part of his career, but personally I think he got to a stage in his career when he thought ‘I am going to bat my way!’ He knew what works for him and that is when he started playing his natural game. He walks across and hits balls from outside off-stump through the leg side. He scored runs so consistently in the last few years. Lesson from that for me is that you must figure how you bat the best and then stick to it. That works for you. It might not be the most technically correct, but as long as it works for you, it is alright. Scoring runs in the middle matters and Smith now knows how to score runs in the middle.
How important are the middle overs in T20s?
I like to attack in the middle overs, because if you can take wickets in the middle overs, it takes the pressure off at the death. If you hold in the middle overs, teams can build partnership and they get set to launch in the final overs with wickets in hand. Wickets put batsmen under pressure and that is the tactics I like to use. When I was captaining the Sydney Thunder, I had plans for powerplay, middle overs and death overs. And every time 99% of the times those plans changed. That is the thing about T20 cricket, you need to go with the game and go with the gut field sometimes. You need to change the plans sometimes according to the situation of the game.
