Australia's best and worst, and Strauss's struggles

There's been precious little for Australia to cheer in their one-day series in England so far, but the one bright spot amid all the gloom has been the batting form of Mike Hussey. The top order has caved in more often than not, the middle order has been woefully inconsistent, but Hussey has soldiered on, and his contributions have often been the difference between a competitive total and a hopeless one. In six innings in the NatWest Series and Challenge, Hussey has amassed 273 runs and has been dismissed just three times, for an outstanding average of 91. What's even more impressive, he has scored those runs from positions six and seven, not the easiest positions to score from in ODIs, and at an extraordinary strike-rate of nearly a run a ball. In his 12-match career so far, Hussey averages 113.66 at a phenomenal strike-rate of 96.60.

It's very early days in his international career, but it's tempting to put forward the question - is Hussey the next Michael Bevan for Australia? Bevan's ODI career was characterised by his unflappable temperament, an ability to finish the job in tense situations, and often remain undefeated while doing so. Hussey has done much of the same, though the lack of support from the rest of his mates has meant he hasn't ended on the winning side quite as often as he would have liked in the current series.

The table below how the stats for Hussey and Bevan compare after ten innings for each. The incredibly high number of not-outs for Hussey obviously props up his average, but he has scored more runs at a better scoring-rate than Bevan had at the corresponding time in his career. If Hussey can perform at even 70% of his current form over the next four-five years - already 30, it's highly unlikely his career will stretch much more than that - Australian cricket will be well served.

Gillespie's travails
If Hussey has been the stand-out performer for Australia, then perhaps the biggest disappointment of the lot has been Jason Gillespie. For years he has been the perfect foil for Glenn McGrath; if McGrath was all line-and-length and accuracy, then Gillespie backed his fiery look - mullet, snarl and all - with equally penetrative spells with the ball. This English season, though, Gillespie has gone strangely off the boil - the pace has been friendly, the zip and seam movement have vanished, and batsmen have gone after him with a relish that must bode badly for Ricky Ponting and Australia just weeks before the real battle begins.

The last time Gillespie was quite as listless for an entire series (three or more matches) was eight years ago, also in England, also in the run-up to the Ashes. Then, he managed just one wicket in three Texaco Trophy games, and leaked more than five an over. Before England start preening about how they've dismantled a major Australian weapon, it might be prudent to remind about how Gillespie fared in the real thing in 1997: 16 wickets in four Ashes Tests at 20.75, including a matchwinning spell of 7 for 37 at Headingley. That, though, was a 22-year-old tearaway keen to prove to the world that he had arrived. Now aged 30, it'll be interesting to see if he can lift himself up for the challenge in a similar vein. (Click here for Gillespie's series-wise stats in ODIs.)

Gillespie's 5 worst ODI series	Matches	Wickets	Ave/ Economy rate
Texaco Trophy, Eng, 1997	3	1	136.00/ 5.19
Titan Cup, Ind, 1996-97	3	2	79.00/ 5.44
NatWest Series, Eng, 2005	7	5	50.20, 4.98
VB Series, Aus, 2003-04	8	10	34.30/ 4.45
in South Africa, 1996-97	6	8	30.87/ 4.49

(Includes series where Gillespie played at least three matches)

Struggle for Strauss
England's concern, meanwhile, has been the form of their opening batsmen. Marcus Trscothick and Andrew Strauss redeemed themselves somewhat with that 101-run opening stand at Headingley, but both could have been out early in the piece. Of particular concern has been Andrew Strauss's patchy display. Seen as an important cog in the England wheel after a glorious winter in South Africa, Strauss has only managed 87 runs in five innings against Australia, as compared to 332 in three against Bangladesh. Strauss's mode of dismissal has been equally worrying - he has been bowled four times in his last seven innings; in his previous 24 tries, he had been dismissed in that manner only once. Of the 27 times that Strauss has been dismissed by a bowler in one-day internationals, he has been bowled eight times - that's nearly 30%. It's nowhere near Mike Gatting's 45%, but Strauss is in the top five among English batsmen who've been bowled most frequently in ODIs (Qualification: at least 25 ODIs, with a batting average of at least 25). (Click here for Strauss's innings-wise performances in ODIs.)