Aussies face mental scarring: Hussey

Champion batsman Mike Hussey says he worries Australia’s inexperienced bowling attack that got hammered by England at Trent Bridge will develop mental scarring, in particular Andrew Tye, whose nine overs went for 100 runs.

Up against the world’s most formidable ODI batting line-up on a highway of a pitch in Nottingham, Australia’s attack conceded a world record 6-481 from 50 overs in what became their country’s heaviest 50-over defeat.

After he won the toss and elected to bowl, Australia skipper Tim Paine used eight bowlers in the onslaught as Alex Hales (147) and Jonny Bairstow (139) plundered centuries in an innings that featured 21 sixes and 62 fours in total.

Six bowlers went for more than nine runs per over, while Tye’s figures of 0-100 from nine overs were the second-worst in ODI history for Australia, behind Mick Lewis’ 0-113 in the famous match in Johannesburg in 2006 that saw South Africa chase down Australia’s then world-record total of 434.

Lewis never played for Australia again and is now best remembered for that disastrous day at The Wanderers and not his sterling career for Victoria at domestic level. 

Hussey fears Tye will now be subjected to the same treatment as Lewis, who Hussey says struggled mentally in the wake of the Johannesburg run-fest. 

"I feel for some of the bowlers because unfortunately they’re going to carry that around with you for the rest of your career," Hussey said on this week’s edition of The Unplayable Podcast. 

"I often bump into people and they talk about ‘Mick Lewis is that guy that went for 100’ and so Andrew Tye is going to be another one of those guys. 

"In a lot of ways he’s done so well for the Scorchers and in the IPL he’s done well. 

"A lot of people are unfortunately going to remember him for going for 100 in a one-day international. 

"It’s not the sort of thing you want to be remembered by. 

"I know with Mick Lewis it certainly had a mental effect on him for quite a period of time."

While Tye’s figures were the most alarming, Jhye Richardson (3-92 from 10 overs), Billy Stanlake (0-74 from eight) and Marcus Stoinis (0-85 off eight) all felt the wrath of England’s explosive batting as well.

Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who captured 1-70 from 10 overs, was the only bowler to put the breaks on England’s runaway freight train en route to a record total.

Australia are without the services of pace trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, who were ruled out of the tour with injury and left 151 ODIs of experience on home soil. 

In contrast, Australia’s four front-line bowlers at Trent Bridge – Tye (seven games), Agar (seven), Richardson (three) and Stanlake (four) – have played only 21 ODIs between them. And while that can’t be used as an excuse, Hussey says the experience they gained in the boiler room of international cricket will hopefully serve them and their country better in the long run. 

"I know it probably seems like it’s doom and gloom for the Australian team at the moment and in some ways it is," Hussey said. 

"I worry about some mental scars for some of these guys that are getting taught a serious lesson about international cricket moving forward. 

"But the silver lining is that we’re building a lot of depth, we’re exposing a lot of players that at any other stage may not get an opportunity at all. They’re experiencing what’s it like to play international cricket. 

"And also for the coaches and the selectors, they’re finding out perhaps who’s got it and maybe who does not quite have it. So that’s a positive. 

"I just worry that if we’re picking guys that are maybe not quite ready, which we have to at the moment because we’re missing so many players, that it can have that ongoing mental scarring effect. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen."

Australia have little time to dwell on the record loss at Trent Bridge. 

Both teams travel north today ahead of Thursday’s fourth ODI in Durham, where Hussey says he would be tempted to play veteran Nathan Lyon regardless if the pitch is expected to take spin or not.

"His record in one-day cricket is pretty good, his economy rate is good, he’s got that experience, so I think he could certainly slow the English batsmen down a little bit," he said.

"I think there’s a lot of dangerous right-handers in the team and that maybe one of the reasons why they’ve been reluctant to get him in against England.

"I’m not saying Ashton Agar should make way. He’s a good package. He’s done well in short-form cricket, being a left-arm spinner turning the ball away from those right-handers is important, he’s made some handy runs and he’s a gun in the field.

"If they wanted to bring Nathan Lyon in I’d be looking to play the two spinners. Manchester (venue for the fifth ODI) can turn, you’d have to check out the conditions over there. 

"But I’d be even considering bringing (Lyon) in at Durham. Just having that experience, that knowhow, and just knowing how to handle those pressure situations better than maybe someone a little less experienced." 

Qantas tours of the UK and Zimbabwe

Australia ODI squad: Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Mark Wood

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey

Qantas Tour of the UK

June 7: Australia beat Sussex by 57 runs at Hove

June 9: Australia beat Middlesex by 101 runs at Lord's

June 13: England won by three wickets at The Oval

June 16: England won by 38 runs in Cardiff

June 19: England won by 242 runs at Trent Bridge

June 21: Fourth ODI, Durham (D/N)

June 24: Fifth ODI, Old Trafford

June 27: Only T20, Edgbaston (D/N)

Qantas T20I tri-series Tour of Zimbabwe

July 1: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 8: Final