Former Australian batter Michael Hussey has hinted that he would be open to joining the England Test team as a batting coach.
Hussey’s comments come less than a month after former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was named the England Test team’s head coach.
Michael Hussey and Fleming have worked together for several years with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The duo were both part of CSK’s IPL squad in 2008, when they lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the final.
Fleming then took over as CSK head coach in 2009, a post he maintained until 2026, barring 2016 and 2017 when the franchise was banned. Hussey played for the Yellow Brigade from 2008 to 2013, before joining Mumbai Indians (MI) for the IPL 2014 season. He returned to CSK for one final season in the IPL in 2015.
Michael Hussey opens up on possible coaching role
“There is a lot of different things to consider. My short answer is I would not say no to anything really,” the 51-year-old told Fox Sports.
“I love the coaching side of the game. I love trying to help players get better, whether they are Australians, English, South Africans, Pakistan or India or anywhere, it does not bother me,” Hussey, dubbed as Mr Cricket, added.
Hussey said that while it would be weird coaching England against Australia in an Ashes series, his focus would still be on the job at hand.
“It would feel a bit weird, definitely, coaching for England against Australia in an Ashes series, no question,” the former southpaw stated.
“But if that is your job and that is what you are doing you just get on with it. I don’t feel as if I am coaching against a team. That’s the thing. I sort of feel as if I am coaching with a team whether it is against Australia or South Africa or some other team,” he added.
He, however, stated that he won’t rush into a decision. “I won’t be rushing into a decision. I have a very close relationship with Stephen Fleming and that has an impact on it as well. The time away from family is a real thing for me,” he explained.
Hussey played 79 Tests, 185 ODIs and 38 T20Is between 2004 and 2013, scoring 6285, 5442 and 721 runs across the three formats respectively. In the IPL, he played 59 matches and scored 1977 runs at a strike-rate of 122.64, hitting one century and 15 fifties.
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