Mike Hussey says 'batsman like Sehwag is never out of form'

September 27, 2012

ShewagAustralia know exactly what Virender Sehwag is all about and how lethal he can be. The 195 he scored at the MCG in the third Test on Boxing Day in 2003 still serves as an ugly reminder. But while Sehwag has been awesome, he has also been awful. In the last Test series Down Under, he got out many times playing the cut shot or perishing caught at point, despite two fielders being stationed at that position.

Sehwag may be good, bad or ugly, but the Aussies are clear about one thing, there is no phrase like 'being out of form' in Sehwag's book. When veteran Aussie pro Michael Hussey was asked if it was a good sign for his team to have an out-of-form Sehwag ahead of Friday's Super Eight clash against India at the Premadasa on Friday, the answer was simple and precise.

"I would never say that Sehwag is out of form. He can miss out a couple of times, but we all know that every time he misses out, he is closer to the next big one. Normally, when he scores big runs, he scores them quickly... so I will never say Sehwag is out of form," he said.

In 30 ODIs against Australia, Sehwag has scored just 629 runs at an average of 21.68, with a highest score of 82. In T20 Internationals, his record is poorer. In five T20Is, the 33-year-old has managed 41 runs at an average of 8.20. It's amazing that the Aussies still fear which side of the bed Viru gets up from! Perhaps they are conscious of the fact that a desperate Sehwag with nothing to lose may just swing his bat without inhibition and connect, blowing the Aussies away in the process.

Australia are wary of their old nemesis, Harbhajan Singh too. Harbhajan has his tail up again, having taken four for 12 against England last Sunday. "Of course, he is going to strengthen the team. He is a class act, someone that we respect, but when you play Twenty20, you've got to be aggressive as well and try and put him under pressure. He did a fantastic job the other night, but I think we can play spin better than the English," Hussey said.

Australia know what is coming at them. "I suspect that they will bowl a fair bit of spin to us. Apart from the frontline spinners, the part-timers will also bowl at us. So, we have to adapt very quickly. It can often be a tough challenge."

You get a peek into the culture of the Australian team when Hussey is asked about whether it pains him to see his vastly experienced brother David being kept out of the XI. "It is a tough choice, really. You've got only 11 players and most often it is about finding that balance in the side. I would love to see him in the team."



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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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News Network
June 9,2020

Jun 9: Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy has released a video, alleging racism within the SunRisers Hyderabad camp. Last week, Sammy had lost his cool after learning the meaning of the word "Kalu", which he alleged was directed at him during his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint with the SunRisers Hyderabad. The T20 World Cup-winning Windies skipper had said that he along with Sri Lanka player Thisara Perera were sometimes called that word when they played for SunRisers Hyderabad. However, Sammy did not specify as to who directed these slurs at him, but now the player has released a video, saying he will message all those who called him that word.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn''t know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

"Now, I realise it was degrading, I will be texting you guys and I will ask you as to when you called me with that name, did you all mean it in any bad way or form? I have had great memories in all my dressing rooms, so all those who used to you call me with that word, think about it, let's have a conversation, if it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed," he added.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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