Local boy Michael believes knowledge of conditions will give him an added advantage in Perth
Local boy Michael believes knowledge of conditions will give him an added advantage in Perth
Fresh from an unbeaten 150 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) last week, Michael Hussey is keyed up to play in front of his home fans here at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground in the third Test match against India starting Friday.
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Michael Hussey celebrates after scoring a century against England at the
WACA Ground in Perth on December 18, 2010. Hussey scored 116.
Pic/AFP
Good record
Hussey has 588 runs from six Tests here including a knock of 116 in last summer's Ashes Test. "I love a Perth Test match. The crowd here are unbelievable support. The roar you get as a local player when you come out to bat or take a catch is 10 times louder than for any other player. We're a very parochial mob over here," he told reporters yesterday.
The left-hander felt that knowledge of the conditions would give him an advantage. "I know the conditions extremely well as well, so that's an advantage over other players from around the country and around the world. It is a great place to play cricket. Once you get in on this pitch, it's fantastic for batting," he said. India have played only three Tests here -- 1977-78 (lost by 2 wickets), 1991-92 (lost by 300 runs) and 2007-08 (won by 72 runs).
Hussey felt that the aftermath of the Sydneygate motivated India to register a historic win four seasons ago. "There was obviously a lot of controversy after the Sydney Test match which I think in a way really galvanised the Indian team. They came to Perth with real determination to do well after all the controversy. Looking back, I didn't feel at the time that it affected our team, but maybe it did a bit with all the controversy going on outside of the game.
"And there were some real outstanding performances in that game. It was probably the birth of Ishant Sharma, who bowled unbelievably well in that Test match. I remember a spell to Ricky Ponting which was just phenomenal bowling and the Indians played a great brand of cricket in that particular Test match and were too good in those five days," said Hussey.
India can bounce back
Hussey expects India to come back strongly after losing the first two Tests. "For us, the goal is to go 3-0. That would be an awesome achievement. But it's going to be a tough Test match. They are (Indians) a very proud bunch of cricketers, a very experienced bunch and I'm expecting them to bounce back extremely hard. They will take some confidence out of winning the last Test match between the two sides at this ground," he said.
Hussey's Test scores at the WACA
*u00a023 and 58 vs South Africa in 2005-06
* 74 not out and 103 vs England in 2006-07
* 0 and 46 vs India in 2007-08
* 0 and 8 vs South Africa in 2008-09
* 82 and 17 vs West Indies in 2009-10
* 61 and 116 vs England in 2010-11
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