MEK Hussey says he'd rather play for Australia. Legend!

Link to SMH article

In a move that might surprise a few people, particularly those on here who say players are all motivated by the money, and not by pride...

After arriving in St Vincent for the first one-day international against the West Indies on Tuesday, Hussey told team officials he expected to play the tour match with Australia rather than the Champions League, which will be played over four days in late September.

He also says in the article that he thought he'd get to play for WA in the CL, not Chennai. Either he didn't know the rules before signing up for the bucks, or didn't read the contract.

Or he's a dumb Wozzie.

Glad to see Hayden and Hussey putting the Baggy Green ahead of the greenbacks (Yup I just made that up).

Stick that in your pipe you IPL twats!

Not fronting up for the greenbacks? For shame!

A cricketer saying he'd rather play for his country. Whodathunk it. Rejoice.

Wasn't Hussey one of the two Aussie cricketers who did not get picked up in the first round of auctioning ?

Wasn't Hussey one of the Australians who played in the final of the Mickey Mouse Cricket Comp?

Zat wrote:Wasn't Hussey one of the Australians who played in the final of the Mickey Mouse Cricket Comp?

No

Doesn't exactly make him a legend.

tosh...it shows that like his little brother that he has overcome the significant disadvantage of being a Worrier

***cough***

More on this:

Hussey, Hayden in club v country row

June 23, 2008

CRICKET Australia (CA) is embroiled in a club-versus-country tug of war against the powerful Indian Premier League (IPL) over star batsmen Mike Hussey and Matthew Hayden.

The IPL insists the two left-handers will represent their Indian franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, in the mooted Champions League Twenty20 tournament, due to be played in September-October.

But the tournament - which will pit the best Twenty20 teams from Australia, India, South Africa and England against each other to determine the world's best domestic side - will clash with the start of the keenly-anticipated Australia's Test tour of India.

Ricky Ponting's side is scheduled to play a four-day tour match from October 2-5 - their only warm-up clash before the first Test - at the same time the Champions League is set to be staged.

IS Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council, admitted the two Australians faced a scheduling clash, but said Hayden and Hussey would be playing for their club and not their country.

"Hussey and Hayden, the two key players facing a clash of dates, will play for the Chennai team," Bindra told the Cricinfo website.

CA spokesman Peter Young said there was a lot of uncertainty around the planned tournament, and that representatives from the four boards would get together to discuss the sticking points.

But Young said CA was keen to have its players represent Australia first.

"Our position was always that international duties would always take precedence and the IPL always agreed with that," he said.

"The situation is moving very quickly and I don't think there will be any clarity until all the parties get together and work out what the dates are, and who's doing what, where and when.

"But there's too much uncertainty and we don't want to create expectations that might not be delivered."

The IPL's clout also means Chennai can take precedence in getting Hussey from Western Australia, provided they pay the Warriors a relieving fee.

Although the details are yet to be finalised, administrators hope to stage the Champions League in the short window between the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the Australia-India Test series.

Australia will be represented by Victoria and Western Australia, India by Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals and Chennai and South Africa by the Titans and Kwazulu Natal Dolphins.

England's two sides will be determined by their domestic Twenty20 tournament.


AAP

PearlJ wrote:Glad to see Hayden and Hussey putting the Baggy Green ahead of the greenbacks (Yup I just made that up).

!

They have taken correct decision.

Tour game is the only opportunity for them to get in test mode after a series of one dayers and playing T20 ahead of an important test series is insanity. As long as Australia seeks their service and these players are willing, no one can force them to play anything---not even an IPL contract.

I hope it degenerates into a shitfight of massive degree. Aussie sports fans are pretty shat off at the way soccer players get stuffed around by the whole 'club v country' thing, but with that game being a relatively minor sport in Aus, it's never really hit the national psyche as much as one in cricket would.

While the IPL might think it doesn't need to win the hearts and minds of Aussie sports fans, I reckon it might have to down the track. Waka Bindra and TQ Modi need to tread very carefully in this matter IMO.