Hussey's sights set on more success

A corrected technical flaw has been behind Michael Hussey's confidence-boosting return at Lord's, which has helped him relax following an extended slump. Hussey realised during a chat with Ricky Ponting that he had a "blind spot" in his stance and the captain suggested a change in focus at delivery.

Hussey fixed the problem before the Ashes tour and is feeling more comfortable at the crease, something which showed during a double of 51 and 27 in the loss at Lord's. "I had really closed myself off and was really concentrating on my right shoulder," he said as he prepared to lead Australia in their tour match against Northamptonshire on Friday. "That was causing my eyes not to be level with the bowler - I was sort of looking out towards mid-off.

"There was a slight blind spot so it meant I could not quite catch the flight of the ball out of the bowler's hand as I would have liked. I have just tried to open my eyes up a bit to look straight at the bowler and it has helped me pick the ball up a little easier."

The Lord's half-century was only his third since Australia returned home from India last November and the streak became so bad there were even questions over his value to the side. A hundred in the tour game in Worcester reconfirmed his status, but he registered only 3 during a tense display in Cardiff.

Hussey's main moments of discomfort the following week in London came from Andrew Flintoff, who clipped the batsman's off stump in the first innings when he shouldered arms. "I don't know if we could have done a hell of a lot differently against him," Hussey said of Flintoff, the Lord's hero. In Hussey's second bat he was unfortunate to be given out caught behind to a Graeme Swann delivery he didn't hit.

While the returns were small by Hussey's standards, he is pleased with how he is going and is not feeling the stress he experienced during his drought. "I certainly struggle more when I put a lot of pressure on myself," he said. "When I was not getting the results I was after against South Africa, I was trying harder and harder and harder, so I am just trying to go the other way - keep the pressure off myself and relax."

The withdrawal of Kevin Pietersen from the rest of the series with an Achilles problem has also eased the demands on Australia, who enter next week's third Test in Birmingham needing a win to draw level. "They are definitely going to miss him," Hussey said. "He's played well against Australia and is probably the lynchpin in that batting order. To not have him there has got to be a plus for us."

Hussey is back in Northampton, which was home during a long county stint, and is in charge of the side for the next three days following the resting of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin. "I owe a lot really to Northampton because I learnt a lot of my cricket here, particularly playing against spin bowling," he said. "I came from the WACA where it was all pace and bounce and I had no idea about playing against spin." However, slow bowling is unlikely to be a major concern of the Australian batsmen over the next six weeks.