Background

Hussey initially played for the Western Australian Warriors (club team), where his 6471 runs rank eighth on the official list of the state's run scorers. Later, he moved to England and scored an unbeaten 329 (a Northamptonshire club record). Later, he captained Northamptonshire. While playing for Northamptonshire at Taunton in August 2003, he surpassed his own Northamptonshire record of 331 not out.

As a result, he caught the attention of Australian selectors and got selected for the team in 2004.

First Appearance

Following his impressive performance on the county cricket circuit in England, Hussey was selected for the home ODI series against India in 2004. During the match that day, he scored 17 not out to help his team win. Hussey quickly gained a reputation as a reliable finisher, scoring five half-centuries in 2005 and not being out in four of them.

His test debut came against the West Indies in 2005, where he managed only one run in the first innings and 29 in the second. He announced his arrival by scoring a century in each of the two matches, consecutively.

Ascend to Glory

The year 2006 was a special one for Hussey, in this year he reached the top of the rankings and was named ICC Player of the Year. During the same year, he was included in the World ODI XI.

Hussey saved his team from trouble during umpteen occasions, which boosted his reputation. One of them was an ODI against New Zealand in 2007. The Australians were in deep trouble after chasing 155 runs. Hussey entered for the batting when the score was 48-4. Hussey stood strong at one end of the field and scored 65 not out to carry his team to victory despite the wickets falling all around him.

Another memorable inning was the brilliant knock against Pakistan during the World T20 semifinals in 2010. During Hussey's innings, he scored 60 not out from 24 balls, bludgeoning bowlers for the final berth.

Low Point

During Hussey's career, he struggled through some rough patches. His early 2007 performance was particularly bad, where he averaged only eight runs in 10 innings. At the World Cup, he only scored 87 runs, which was below his usual average. As a result of the World Cup failure, he dropped out of the Australian team.

During his career, he also served as captain four times. Despite this, he did not win a single match as captain.

Captaincy

During Ricky Ponting's absence due to injuries, Michael Hussey served as Australian captain four times in his career. He got the captaincy for the first time in a 2006 ODI against the West Indies.

However, as a captain, he did not have a good record. He failed to win a single match on all four occasions when he captained the team.

Michael’s Record

• Before making his international debut, he scored 15,313 First Class runs.

• As a first-class cricketer, he scored two triple tons.

• During his career, he batted at no.7 with an average of 120.83 and scored 725 runs.

• In 166 days, he completed 1,000 international runs.

• First player to reach the top 10 rankings in the fastest time.

• Record of scoring the second century of the IPL.

• During the 2013 Indian Premier League, he scored 733 runs in 17 matches.

• During his Test career, he scored 19 centuries and 29 half-centuries.

• As a Test player, he scored 6,235 runs and as an ODI player, he scored 5,442 runs.

• It is widely known that he was an excellent fielder. He picked up 84 catches in Tests, 105 in ODIs, 20 in T20s, and 307 in Club cricket.

Retirement

In 2013, Hussey retired from Test cricket at the age of 38. A primary reason for his retirement was a desire to spend more time with his family. Hussey had planned to play in ODIs for a longer, but he was dropped by the selectors.

His last ODI was against Pakistan in 2012. Throughout his career, Hussey scored 22 centuries with a Test average of 51.53 and an ODI average of 48.16.