It is not all doom and gloom for England after Ashes humbling – Michael Hussey
Former Australia batter Michael Hussey says that there are plenty of positives for England to take from their defeat in the Ashes opener at the Gabba.
Hussey pinpointed four players who impressed in the opening match of the series while backing veteran quicks Stuart Broad and James Anderson to make a big difference when they come back in.
Broad and Anderson are expected to return to the XI for the day/night Test in Adelaide that starts on 16 December.
Hussey feels that the two veterans could combine well with the likes of Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood who were the pick of the tourists’ bowlers in Brisbane.
Mr Cricket makes Australia strong favourites to retain the Ashes but warns that England cannot be written off just yet.
“It’s a huge confidence boost to go one-nil up in the series, there’s no question about that and history will show it’s difficult for the overseas team to fight back,” Hussey said after the first Test.
“But there’s still some positives for England to take out of this Test match.
“I think Ollie Robinson bowled really well, Mark Wood bowled well, Joe Root’s obviously world class and Dawid Malan batted well, plus they’ve got some big names to come into the team with Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson waiting in the wings, so I think they can look ahead in the series with optimism.
“Maybe they didn’t quite get the best of the conditions here in Brisbane. They’ll be disappointed and it’ll hit their confidence a little bit, but they’ve got plenty to play for.”
Anderson and Broad will lift England
Hussey feels that the veteran fast bowlers will lift the entire England team.
“I think it’ll lift them, no question, they’ve got so much experience and so much quality that it looks like it makes the team better.
“I think everyone will walk a bit taller with those two guys in the team. It remains to be seen, but England with those two guys in the team are probably going to be better.”
Hussey doesn’t feel that England need to make wholesale changes and urged them to back Haseeb Hameed.
“I think [Haseeb] Hameed looked pretty good, really good to be honest,” Hussey added.
“He applied himself well, his defence looked good, he was willing to fight it out and bat time.
“I don’t think they’ll be looking to make many changes. It’s the first Test, you’ve got to give these guys a bit of a go at it.
“You can’t get rid of them after one Test, I think that sends a bad message and it creates that environment where people look over their shoulder. If you pick someone, you’ve got to back them in for a couple of Tests.”