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Cape Town - Australian batsmen, Mike Hussey has fired another salvo at the Proteas ahead of the first Test at Newlands which starts on Wednesday.
The Western Australia native says that his South African counterparts have not prepared enough going into their much-awaited Test, their first since 2009.
“I realise that players have played provincial limited overs cricket. Therefore they at least have some cricket under the belt, but personally, I would rather want to play first class matches leading up to a Test series,” Hussey told Die Burger newspaper.
Hussey himself has only scored a single Test century against South Africa, coming in Melbourne in 2005 and only a third of his 15 Test tons have taken place outside of Australia.
He says that although it is not a bad idea to rest players, rustiness will soon be found out in the Test arena.
“The use of match practice can also help. A fresh and rested player can get going at the onset (of a series). The difficult thing is to keep up your intensity. It is one of the things that you can only get practice for in both Tests and First Class matches,” added Hussey.
However, despite everything, the man dubbed “Mr Cricket” is convinced that the team the Aussies face this time around is even stronger than the one who defeated them in their backyard in the 2008/2009 season.
“Some players like AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have played a lot more cricket, so they are probably better. They have been able to keep the same personnel for a while...and it's probably reflected on the rankings,” Hussey explained in Monday's Cape Times.
“Having the same group of players for quite some time helps you to build a team.”
The Western Australia native says that his South African counterparts have not prepared enough going into their much-awaited Test, their first since 2009.
“I realise that players have played provincial limited overs cricket. Therefore they at least have some cricket under the belt, but personally, I would rather want to play first class matches leading up to a Test series,” Hussey told Die Burger newspaper.
Hussey himself has only scored a single Test century against South Africa, coming in Melbourne in 2005 and only a third of his 15 Test tons have taken place outside of Australia.
He says that although it is not a bad idea to rest players, rustiness will soon be found out in the Test arena.
“The use of match practice can also help. A fresh and rested player can get going at the onset (of a series). The difficult thing is to keep up your intensity. It is one of the things that you can only get practice for in both Tests and First Class matches,” added Hussey.
However, despite everything, the man dubbed “Mr Cricket” is convinced that the team the Aussies face this time around is even stronger than the one who defeated them in their backyard in the 2008/2009 season.
“Some players like AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have played a lot more cricket, so they are probably better. They have been able to keep the same personnel for a while...and it's probably reflected on the rankings,” Hussey explained in Monday's Cape Times.
“Having the same group of players for quite some time helps you to build a team.”
