Sharjah: A lot has been discussed about the importance of the toss in the ongoing Cool & Cool Cup series between Pakistan and Australia.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq called correctly and opted to bat in the first match in Sharjah and his side went on to lose the contest. Likewise, Australia skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and decided to bat in Abu Dhabi before also suffering defeat.
So is the coin toss again going to be a vital factor in the third and final match of the series in Sharjah on Monday?
Australian all-rounder David Hussey has a rather blunt answer. “The toss is not as important. The wickets both in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi have been perfect. I think we have to execute our skills and the team that plays best on the day will win the series.”
But Hussey admits that the conditions are tough. “It has been difficult, not just from my point of view, but also for the batters who have had substantial scores. They found it very difficult to run very hard between wickets.
“It is also very hard to recover. You need a respite between deliveries. As an Australian cricket team we pride ourselves on running between wickets and running hard. You really need to look for respite,” added Hussey who, unlike his brother Michael, has not been among the runs in this series.
Hussey revealed how his team has coped with the humidity.
“It is a different kind of humidity than we are used to. The key is to keep your body temperature down.
“Stuart Karppinen, our strength and conditioning coach, has been fantastic. He keeps giving us a sort of cold slushie which takes you back to your childhood. He gives the ice spas already and the key is to keep our body temperatures down and you have to adapt that way.”
Hussey went on to acknowledge the sporting spirit of both team’s captains. “Every couple of overs you can see the 12th man running on to the field with drinks because you need to back the batters. Both captains have been fantastic and have shown the great spirit of cricket by allowing those drinks and changes of gloves as often as possible,” he said.
Hussey would love to seen an aggressive start from his openers David Warner and Matthew Wade on Monday. “Both teams would love to get off to a good start. I think Jasmshed knock showed how good it was for Pakistan to get off to a good start.
“It deflates the opposition if you can get your team off to a nice start. We want Warner and Wade to play their natural games as they perform ever so well in domestic cricket in Australia and in the international stage everybody knows how good they can be, smacking it to all parts of the ground.”
