Mr Cricket

by Michael Hussey

  An element of that part of the Australian team program involved sport psychologist Phil Jauncey, who taught us an incredible amount about ourselves and gave us a valuable insight into working out our opposition, which can be a crucial weapon in the heat of a contest. Phil is a bit eccentric and zany, but also very likeable and down-to-earth. He’s done a lot of work with the Brisbane Lions, so Queensland Cricket and John thought that, as a consultant, Phil could offer the Australian team some valuable knowledge.

  Phil is interested in personality analysis and his work with us provided some of the most interesting lessons of my career. It began with a questionnaire, which he later analysed and from which he placed us into certain personality categories. The personality types he devised were the Mozzie, the Feeler, the Thinker and the Enforcer. At the end of my analysis, Phil concluded I was a Thinker and Feeler. Thinkers are very planned, organised and consider the game deeply. They leave as little as possible to guesswork and need everything to be structured and set out perfectly (a bit short of obsessive, I suppose!). Another trait of mine that Phil discovered was the Feeler aspect. Feelers are emotional sorts of characters, who like to be told they’re doing well, like to have a pat on the back and be reminded that they’re important to the team. They need to feel valued – a bit of a wuss. They are the ingredients that make up my personality.

  KNOW YOURSELF:

  THINKER

  Attention to detail

  Planning (always have a plan)

  Never be rushed

  Can overanalyse

  Very organised

  Logical

  Analytical

  Listener

  Ask questions

  Structured

  TO BE A WINNER

  What am I going to do? Is it working? If not, change

  Be specific, make a plan, act on it

  MAN IN THE MIRROR

  Be the best player I can be

  Toughest opponent is myself – get out of my comfort zone

  Be honest with yourself

  ‘Mental toughness is being able to beat yourself’

  ME BATTING WELL

  Well prepared

  Well organised

  Planned

  Busy

  Straight, singles, busy

  Look to drive, play positively

  Drive, cut, singles, be positive, look to score.

  Phil’s personality types become clearer when you consider some of the other guys in the team. If you said to Matt Hayden ‘You’re doing a great job’, he’d probably respond, ‘Yeah, whatever. I don’t care’. That’s because Matt’s an Enforcer. He likes to be aggressive and assert his dominance. Matt is tall, strong and confident and wants to overpower his opposition. I like to take my time, plan out my innings step by step, get through this period or that and get my reward at the end of the day. Matt prefers to belt them. That works for him. But I know it wouldn’t work for me because it’s not my personality type.

  You might think Andrew Symonds is the same personality type as Haydos. They share some traits. But there are also differences. Simmo is definitely an Enforcer, in that he likes to be strong and aggressive, like Haydos. But he is also a Mozzie. Mozzies are those types of players who perform best when they don’t think, rather they go out there and just play. Mozzies are naturals who are not going to fare any better if they have lots of information on board. In fact, it would likely be detrimental. So Symonds is a Mozzie-Enforcer.

  Just as importantly, the four personality types can be applied to opposition players. Every good sporting team needs to allocate time to working out their opponents’ personalities because it can be used to your advantage. For instance, a player who is a Feeler – who likes to be told they’re doing well and doing the right thing by the team – will be susceptible to the opposite kind of treatment. Remember my letter to Steve Waugh? That came about because the Queensland team knew I was a Feeler and, therefore, they should keep telling me I was letting my team down. They were in my ear, making me believe I was digging a hole for my team and that I should be scoring faster. I’d start doubting myself and tried to play the way that I shouldn’t be playing. Their tactic worked because they knew my personlity type and used it to their advantage.

  IMPROVING WITH AGE ...

  It’s not just Feelers who are vulnerable. These tactics can be used against each personality type. If you’re playing against an Enforcer, for instance, why would you want to get into an on-field confrontation with them? That’s exactly what they want. So, the obvious tactic should be to make sure you don’t look at them, don’t talk to them or try to get into a confrontation with them. There’s no point. An Enforcer wants to be in a battle, so it’s best to give them nothing. Another option against Enforcers could be to make it a bit fun out there and have a laugh and a joke with your teammates – or even with the batsman himself – because he doesn’t want you to do that. The Enforcer wants to be in a fight and refusing to give him that will make him feel uneasy.

  Every cricket team considers what a batsman wants – and they try to give him the opposite. Sometimes, however, testosterone takes over and it can be hard to restrain yourself from having a go at a batsman if he’s just smashed you over mid-on. What works in theory is sometimes very hard to put into practice.

  Personality analysis is just as important off the field. I’ve come across so many different types of people on my life’s journey and now, playing international cricket, these encounters are amplified to a new level. An international cricketer’s life involves a lot more than just playing cricket. Our job is to win games, but we also have to make sure everything is running smoothly with managers, fans, sponsors, teammates, coaches, administrators and media, in Australia and in numerous other countries. Life’s rich pageant.

  In the space of my first three seasons in English county cricket, for example, I came across two vastly different coaches, with different styles and opposite personalities. In my first season at Northamptonshire, in 2001, I was the club’s only overseas player and therefore felt a great desire to prove to them that the investment had been worthwhile. That meant not only scoring runs but fitting well into the team dynamic. In the second season, those responsibilities took on a new dimension when I was made captain. Learning how to interact with the coaches and balancing competing demands at a time when I had these new challenges to contend with taught me an incredible amount about myself and, importantly, how best to deal with different types of people.

  Northamptonshire’s coach was Bob Carter, who is now the assistant coach to John Bracewell in New Zealand. Bob was a very caring man who would do anything for his players. I was pretty fresh and a bit nervous. Bob sensed that and set about making sure Amy and I were set up as well as possible. Bob’s belief was that if a player’s home life is happy, then he would have his best chance at playing good cricket for the club. We didn’t have any kids at the time, but Bob bent over backwards to ensure Amy was happy, the place we were staying in was good, the car was running well and that we had everything we needed to feel settled in England.

  Bob took the time to get to know me, both as an individual and as a cricketer. He became aware that I was a very hard self-marker and was holding myself back with little doubts here and there. As a way to alleviate that he began talking to me about ‘trusting my game’. At first I didn’t register what he was saying. I thought what he meant was that if, for instance, I was in a tough situation, I should trust that I was good enough to go for it and try to bat my way out of the problem. But that wasn’t it. Trusting my game, according to Bob, meant that if I was in a dogfight and didn’t even look like scoring a run I should trust that I would be able to stick it out by employing my tactics and approach and playing my natural game. If I believed in myself and my game, I’d come out the other end. He drummed that into me constantly. He would often say that he thought I had the best technique of any batsman he’d seen. I don’t know if he truly believed that, but he would say it because he wanted me to believe it an
d back myself a bit more. ‘Trust your game’ became Bob’s catchcry in his dealings with me.

  Time was never an issue with Bob. He spent many hours with me just throwing balls – and throwing more balls. I’d say ‘10 more’ and he’d say, ‘No, 30 more – but 30 good ones.’ I’d hit a couple not quite out of the middle and he’d say, ‘No good, do that one again.’ I liked his attitude but often felt guilty because I thought he was getting tired or should be training someone else. In fact, Bob wanted to go even further in my training than I did.

  For all his efforts, however, things didn’t go well for me in the early stages of my time at Northamptonshire and it wasn’t for lack of practise. It was my state of mind that was the problem. The club had taken a big punt on me because I was an unknown, having only played for WA. I thought I’d be happy to take on that pressure. However, I weighed myself down too much because I expected immediate success and beat myself up when it didn’t come. I was tense and found myself in a dressing room with a group of people I knew nothing about and who probably thought I was a dud. I wanted to impress them, become a part of the team and I was trying extremely hard to do that. It just didn’t work out, though, and for the first six or seven games I hardly scored a run.

  BOB CARTER

  I first came across Mike in November 1998 when I saw him practising in the nets at the WACA before a game between Western Australia and Victoria. I’d been working as coach of Wellington in New Zealand and was on my way to England, where I was about to sign on as director of cricket for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. My travels had taken me to Brisbane where I met and signed Matthew Hayden to be the Northants overseas professional for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

  When Matthew made his way back into the Australian team I began looking for another top-quality cricketer to fill his position. There were a couple of things about Mike that impressed me: his figures were exceptional and he had the experience of playing first-class cricket for WA. I felt that, in addition to his natural ability and batting skills, Mike might be able to bring a similar culture to Northants that Matthew had.

  I had been holidaying in New Zealand with my family and thought I better get this overseas player business sorted, so I went to watch the Adelaide Test match between Australia and the West Indies. While there, I had a pleasant dinner with Messrs Hayden, Langer and Justin’s father, Colin. I quizzed Justin about Mike as they were teammates in Perth. Justin said some good things about Mike and I decided when I got back to New Zealand that it was time to talk to him about joining Northants.

  Northamptonshire had had a good season in 2000 and, therefore, talking the committee into signing Mike was not too much of an issue, although a couple of the playing staff expressed surprise that I wanted him as he was still a virtual unknown. But when Mike breezed into Northampton in April 2001 he settled in very well and his friendly easygoing manner and exemplary attitude was an instant success with the other players.

  The more I watched Mike in those early days the more impressed I became with his technique and how well he timed the ball. But it was to be a little while before he translated those skills into scores. He had a scratchy start and it culminated in us having a chat on the balcony at Bristol during a one-day match against Gloucestershire. Mike had been bowled off his pads for four, adding to his other underwhelming scores of 18, 21, 3 and 5 – not the best start. He said: ‘Bob, I’m sorry mate, but I promise you I am trying as hard as I can.’ My reply was something like ‘Huss, you are a good player. Next time you go out to bat I want you to trust your game and dominate the 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 Lanka and his first Test match at the Gabba, though I was a little bleary-eyed watching from my hotel room in Durban where we were playing against South Africa in a one-day series. I was back home in Christchurch when he played his second Test and to hear those shouts of delight when he made that maiden Test century was wonderful. Ironically, Matthew Hayden was at the other end to share the moment with him and, for me, having coached both players, it was a pretty special moment.

  Mike and I stay in contact quite a lot these days. Our wives, Julie and Amy, became good friends and we’ve all shared many laughs over the past few years. Mike and Amy are both caring people and are always prepared to give you their time. When we were living in Northampton, Mike would play football and cricket for hours with my son Leo in our back garden. The ball would be kicked or hit over into t
he next yard and without even thinking Mike would jump the eight foot-high fence with ease to retrieve the ball from the next door neighbour’s house.

  It’s been a pleasure working with Mike and I look forward to enjoying the rest of his career. He is a brilliant batsman. In three seasons of county cricket for Northamptonshire he scored just under 8000 runs, not a bad return at all, especially given he was also captain through some difficult team issues and managed to lead the club to a double promotion in 2003. All of these different experiences have steeled him for the rigours of international cricket and the fact that he has had leadership experience can only help him in his quest to become one of the world’s best cricketers.

  On December 10, 2005, coincidentally my son Leo’s 10th birthday, we played against Australia at Jade Stadium in Christchurch in the Chappell-Hadlee one-day series. Mike had come over for dinner the night before and as usual we were having a few laughs and talking about the game the next day. Leo told Mike to hit him a catch up in the stands. Well, Mike hit quite a few sixes on his way to an amazing 88 runs from not many balls. His innings was only to be matched by a great win for the Blackcaps. Later that evening I took Leo into the Australian team press conference where Mike was sitting with Ricky Ponting being interviewed about the game. As we entered, Mike waved to Leo and later when leaving the room he gave Leo his tour cap. My son walked out of that room feeling 10-feet tall. Thank you, Mike.