Veteran batsman Mike Hussey admits his preparation to face the world’s best pace attack isn’t ideal but he’s working overtime to fast-track his transition back to Test cricket.
West Australian Hussey will have just one Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the MCG starting on Thursday to hone his game ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane from November 9.
Hussey had Australian speedster Ben Hilfenhaus pepper him with red balls at training while the pair were on duty with the Chennai Kings in the recent Champions League Twenty20.
“It’s not perfect. I’d definitely prefer to have a couple more first-class games,” the 37-year-old said.
“I must admit in my training while I was over in South Africa I was trying to get back into Test match cricket mode.
“I was facing Ben Hilfenhaus with red balls over there so I’ve done a bit of work in the lead-up to this Shield game.”
Hussey said he found adapting from T20 to Test cricket easier than the reverse.
Desperate to play on to next year’s twin Ashes series, Hussey averages less than 10 against South Africa’s fast bowling trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.
In 14 Tests against South Africa, Hussey’s average is a modest 33.87, well below his overall 50.07, and his one century against the No.1 Test nation came seven years ago.
Hussey believed it was hard to argue with Proteas’ bowling coach and former pace great Allan Donald’s assessment that the South African attack was the best since the end of their international isolation in the early 1990s.
“From facing them, it’s probably the best attack that I’ve faced going around,” Hussey said.
“Best ever – it’s a pretty big call.
“They’ve had some pretty amazing bowlers in the same team with Donald and Pollock and I think (Brian) McMillan was there but certainly, statistically speaking, they’re probably right up there with the best that’s ever played for South Africa.
“They’ve got a well-rounded attack that complements each other very well and we’re going to have play very well to get on top of them.”
Hussey is expecting a solid workout against Victoria’s pacemen that includes Test bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle as well as Clint McKay.
He was undecided whether facing such a tough trio was ideal for his preparation.
“It’s perfect preparation to face quality attack but, on the other hand, it would be nice to get some confidence up by smacking around some lesser bowlers but, unfortunately, I’m not going to get that against Victoria.
“It is good preparation because, once you get out in the middle against South Africa, you’re going to have to fight very hard for every single run and I expect Sids and Pato and Clint McKay to not make it easy for us.”
