Melbourne, Feb 27 (IANS) Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has slammed the selectors for dropping prolific scorer Michael Hussey from the World Cup squad.
‘If he was going to play in any game of cricket, it should be in the World Cup,’ The Herald Sun quoted Waugh as saying.
Waugh’s comments come after it was revealed that Hussey had overcome his hamstring injury and was keen to play for Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield team during the week against Tasmania before he was overruled by Cricket Australia (CA).
Hussey had insisted that he would have been fit enough to play against co-hosts Sri Lanka on March 5 had he been selected in the squad.
Waugh, who led Australia to their second World Cup triumph in 1999, said Hussey had experience to help the win their fourth consecutive World Cup.
‘Unless they play very, very badly, there’s no way Australia won’t make the quarter-finals. At the end of the day, it’s all about quarter-finals; you win three games from there and you win the World Cup.
‘If Mike Hussey could have been fit, he should have gone away. I’m sure Ricky Ponting would’ve wanted him to go away with them; his experience is invaluable, particularly on the (subcontinent) wickets, and he plays spin well. I was staggered he wasn’t picked.’
‘They did it last time with Andrew Symonds when he went over with a biceps injury even though he needed to be rested for the first few games,’ Waugh said.
‘Michael Hussey is one guy who would’ve really committed himself to getting fit. The selectors though, must have heard something, but there are three or four guys sitting on the bench over there and not playing, and Hussey could have been one of them.
‘Time will tell if the selectors made the right decision. They have to go with their gut feeling.’
