Australia batter Steve Smith (AP)
Mike Hussey was on Friday appointed as a consultant coach to the Australian team for next year’s Ashes series against England and the 2027 ODI World Cup. However, the 51-year-old turned down the offer and has instead decided to work with Australia as they look to address their batting struggles, which were exposed during their recent 2-1 Test series defeat in South Africa. He was part of England’s coaching setup when they won the T20 World Cup in 2022 and served as Chennai Super Kings’ long-time batting coach under Fleming in the Indian Premier League.
The former Australia batter had revealed in August that England’s new red-ball coach, Stephen Fleming, had informally approached him to take up the role of Test batting mentor.
“Mike has been a highly valued part of our staff in the past and brings a considerable skill set which is complementary to the coaches and players,” said Australia head coach Andrew McDonald. “Not only is his expertise as a player and coach across multiple formats, competitions, countries invaluable, so are his qualities as a person.” Hussey has considerable coaching experience, having worked with both Australia and England. He also coached Welsh Fire in this year’s edition of The Hundred.