Remember when: Hussey Heroics

It was the day that Michael Hussey staked his claim to the title of ‘Mr Cricket’ in all three forms of the international game.

Having already announced his belated arrival as a Test batsman by building a Bradman-esque average in his first few years and enhancing his reputation as clinical placer and timer of the ball in the 50-overs arena, Hussey confirmed that he could also bludgeon with the best.

By clubbing 60 from just 24 balls against a Pakistan attack rendered as bereft of answers as it was short on belief as a supposedly unlosable game was snatched from their grasp.

And 22 of those runs came from a volley of blows landed in the space of five balls from Pakistan’s ‘mystery spinner’ Saeed Ajmal, which was all the Australians needed in a now famous final over that had begun with them eyeing 18 runs for an unlikely win.

Not just any match.

The do-or-die semi-final of the ICC World T20 tournament, the winner of which would go on to tackle perennial bridesmaid England in the final.

Hussey’s ability to pick the right shot for whatever delivery came along, execute that stroke flawlessly and not become overawed or panicked by the apparent hopelessness of his team’s cause continues to set this innings apart in a format that delivers incandescent cameos on an almost daily basis.

It was for that reason that the left-hander, who was never known for hyperbole in a first-class career that spanned 273 matches and almost 20 years, ranked it among his finest achievements.

Alongside – perhaps even a nose ahead of - the winning cover drive that crowned Australia’s equally memorable comeback victory in the 2006 Ashes Test against England in Adelaide.

"That was the best feeling I have ever had on a cricket field," he said after the improbable T20 win.

“I have hit the winning runs in an Ashes Test at Adelaide, but this was right up there.

“And possibly better because this was such a big game - a semi-final."

Unfortunately for Australia, the heroics that got them into the final could not be repeated against England who won their first major global limited-overs trophy by securing the ICC World T20 championship a few days later.