Hussey warns England against over-analysing

Michael Hussey has said that it would be detrimental for England if they over-analysed their game and became too intense in preparation for this year's Ashes.

"I think it's dangerous for them to get caught up in every ball and become too intense with it," Hussey told The Age, a Melbourne-based daily. "If you make it too complicated, it can have an adverse effect on your performance. I've been down that road, I had three years where I went to the nth degree, trained too hard and put too much pressure on myself and it definitely had a negative effect on my game."

Hussey's comments came after the England Cricket Board (ECB) had revealed their new video data-capture project which would make every ball bowled in first-class and one-day cricket available on the internet for coaches to analyse. They will be able to look at the shots played and dismissals of batsmen to in order to focus on the strengths and weaknesses in their technique.

"I think it would be a dangerous ploy by England to take it too seriously," said Hussey. "At the end of the day, what happens out in the middle is a battle between two players, a batter and a bowler, and whoever has got the will to finish on top generally does."

Hussey added that he does not use video footage as much now to improve his game. "I used to, but I feel very comfortable ... with what my plans are and where my game is at. I look every now and then to make sure certain technical aspects are still in place, but generally I don't use it a helluva lot."

He had stints at Durham, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire and felt that his familiarity of England's bowlers would work to his advantage. "It's a bit of a blessing for me because I have already seen their bowlers; I've played against them a lot so I have already devised some plans in my head. The flipside of it is that they have seen me, but I hope the plans that I have against them will be better than what they've got planned for me."