Daily Cricket News

Draw will give us hope in series: Hussey

Adelaide: Australia batsman Mike Hussey says his side could get a psychological edge over England if it can force a draw in the second Test at Adelaide.

Hussey battled to put on 104 runs with Michael Clarke before his vice-captain fell to Monday's last delivery from Kevin Pietersen, meaning that England need just six wickets on the final day to win the Test, with the home side still 137 runs behind.

The left-handed batsman admitted the wicket left the Australian dressing room downbeat but believes with a bit of luck in the middle and perhaps a couple of hours of rain, a draw is still possible.

"I thought we fought pretty hard today; it was a real kick in the guts to lose that one in the last over but we're still there fighting," Hussey said. "It was a pretty sombre way to finish the game for us. It would have been really nice for us to go in three down."

However, there is still everything to play for, particularly with the first Test also being drawn.

"If we can draw the match, England will see it as a loss — so that's got to be something that has to drive us on," Hussey said. "We've certainly been outplayed; there's no doubt about that in this Test match... We've got a lot of hard work to do, (with) maybe a bit of luck and hopefully a bit of weather to help us on the way."

Hussey believes Australia should take its lead from Simon Katich, who battled to 43 despite an Achilles tendon injury which made it hard for him to run between the wickets.

"It was an inspirational performance really," Hussey said. "In the field, I was trying to get him to go to gully; we were trying to get him to go in the slips, he wasn't having that... He's willing to show that he'll fight all the way, though he was on one leg.

"I remember when he was dropped from the Australian team, a lot of people thought he was written off forever. But knowing the man and knowing the character, I knew he'd come back and show how good he is and he did that today."

Hussey was just as effusive in his praise for Clarke, who apologised on Twitter for not walking before the umpire's initial not out decision was overturned on England's appeal.

"I could tell in Michael's body language that he thought he was out," Hussey said.

"He's pretty distraught at the moment. He played awesome cricket — the way we have loved watching him play over the last few years. It was great for him to play that well but it was disappointing he couldn't get through to the end of the day. He's pretty shattered at the moment but he played fantastically well today."