Mike Hussey: Ashes opener will be a mental challenge for England vice-captain Harry Brook

Former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey believes England vice-captain Harry Brook will face a mental challenge in the Ashes opener.

Speaking ahead of the first Test in Perth, Hussey highlighted Brook as the batter he’s most keen to watch, noting that the conditions and unique pressures of Australian pitches will make for a fascinating test of his skills.

On Betfair and The Overlap’s Stick to Cricket show, Hussey also discussed Australia’s nerves and the hype heading into the winter Ashes.

Hussey believes Australia enter the series opener with understandable anxiety given the absence of their captain and strike bowler.

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Nervous

“I did have a quick chat with Pat Cummins, and he said his body’s feeling great, and he’s steamed in off the long run,” he said.

“He looked really good, but he just hasn’t played much at all really for the last six months. I think they’ll be pushing hard for the second Test.

“If he’s not quite got that sort of volume behind him, definitely solid for Adelaide in the third Test.

“No Pat Cummins is a huge loss in the first test. He’s the number one bowler, the captain of the team, and makes handy runs as well.

“He’s a calm influence around the group. That’s an enormous loss, and I think the Aussies will be nervous coming into it because losing both him and Hazelwood for the first Test is a big loss.

Mind games

Hussey singled out Brook as the player he’s most excited to watch in the first Test, noting the challenges he will face in Australian conditions.

“The one player I’m looking forward to watching is Harry Brook, Hussey added. “He’s a gun, and he’s scored so many runs all around the world.

“This is the one place that he hasn’t scored runs, and I know it’ll be in the back of his mind.

“If he can get a score early in the series, that’ll be enormous for his confidence. But if Australia can keep him down early, then maybe the mind games will start playing in his mind as well. So he’s a massive watch for me.

“The last thing you want to be doing in an Ashes series is trying to figure out how to play on the conditions and they get to test three and you’re, okay, now I’m starting to hit my straps, you know, you want to hit the ground running.

“I understand that the schedule, the way it is, the landscape’s a lot different now, that they like to come in, just do what they’ve been doing and then get on with it. But I mean, I think it’s a risk, but hindsight will tell.

Hype

Hussey admitted he would have found England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach difficult to adapt to.

“I would have struggled with Bazball,” he explained. “I would have struggled if the coaches were saying to me, ‘Come on, you’ve got to get on with it all the time.’

“What if someone’s bowling well? Sometimes you’ve got to work your way through it.

“That’s what I love about Test cricket. Sometimes you’ve got your opportunity to dominate, and then sometimes you’re just going to have to soak up a bit of pressure.

He also reflected on the enormous anticipation surrounding the first Test in Perth: “The hype is as big as I have ever remembered for an Ashes series.

“This has been unbelievable. I’ve been here in Perth, and everyone is so excited for this first game.

“It’s sold out the first three days. Everywhere you go, people just cannot stop talking about it. The hype’s been massive over here.”

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