Free Mr Cricket by Michael Hussey Page B

bowlers.’
    I kept telling Mike, much to his embarrassment, that he had the best technique I’d ever seen (and he still does). But, like many other players Mike had fears and lacked confidence at certain times, particularly early on. Nevertheless, he took my advice at Gloucestershire and ended up scoring a fantastic 2958 runs in all competitions, which included scores of 329 not out and 70 not out in a four-day win against Essex. I remember saying to Mike that he could have made 400 in that match. He quickly reminded me that during his 329 Toby Bailey had run one short. He was serious too! During that season we also had a one-day game against Australia at Northampton in which Mike scored a very good 73. It had started as a difficult season, but he persisted and ended up gaining a lot of confidence through this great comeback.
    In his second season with us he scored 2128 runs in all competitions, despite having missed a quarter of the season because of an Australia-A call up. In one game he took Gloucestershire for 310 not out at Bristol and broke many longstanding records, including the highest score at Bristol, eclipsing WG Grace’s age-old record. Another innings, 110 against Middlesex at Lords in a one-day match, really stuck out. His determination to score a hundred at Lords, as well as ensuring Northamptonshire won the game was, in my view, a truly outstanding piece of batsmanship and captaincy.
    Mike’s work ethic at Northants was outstanding. His preparation and build up to a match centred on facing net bowlers, improving his game with good-quality throwdowns and then putting extra effort into his fielding. Mike always wanted to do extra training and we often spent time together working on his game. He also spent hours and hours facing Monty Panesar’s left-arm spin bowling when everybody else had gone home. I believe there is a lesson in this: these were two players willing to go beyond the average and their reward has been that they now both play and perform well at the very top level. It is no shock to me that Mike is where he is today. His balance, rhythm and timing at the crease are as good as anybody I have seen or coached and that includes such players as Matthew Hayden and Allan Lamb. His quick footwork and ability to play off both front and back feet with equal ease is something very rare.
    Our friendship was confirmed to me when I hit some hard times. Mike left three-quarters of the way through the 2002 season to return to Australia for the A-team tour and I knew those next six weeks were going to be a huge test as the team had lost its captain and we needed his on-field direction to keep us on track for promotion in the one-day competition. We narrowly missed out on promotion and the club decided to terminate my contract. At the time this was a huge psychological blow to me as a coach and a person. When things like this happen, you question your abilities and for a while it was hard to see the way forward. I was worried about my coaching career and unsure what direction our lives as a family would take.
    Shortly after my termination from Northants I received a letter from Mike expressing his disappointment. In it he explained how I had supported him during his two seasons and given him the one important key ingredient that he believed was lacking
in his game: self belief. He followed this by saying that I must continue to stick to my principles and values as a coach. He wrote, ‘You would be brilliant for elite-level players, you must believe that.’ He reminded me that John Buchanan had been coach of Middlesex for just one season before leaving and he was now coaching the best team in the world. It was the inspiration I needed and so my family took the decision to move back to New Zealand.
    Much of my time with the Blackcaps has coincided with Mike’s elevation to the Australian Test and one-day teams. I loved watching him play his first one-day international against Sri