DAVID HUSSEY HAS warned Ireland that they’ll be up against some “once-in-a-generation” prospects when Australia visit Belfast for a one-day international this weekend.
Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson bring World Cup winning pedigree to the Australian touring party for Saturday’s RSA Challenge in Stormont and the five-match ODI series against England which follows.
But Hussey has backed pace bowlers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson as two rising stars who could steal the limelight from the squad’s old hands.
Cummins, 19, became the country’s youngest test cricketer since 1953 when he made his debut against South Africa last November, taking six wickets in his second innings in Johannesburg.
Far from being a flash in the pan, Hussey feels that the youngster could be one of the game’s biggest names for many years to come.
“Pat’s only a young kid but he’s got a great head on his shoulders and he loves playing cricket,” he told TheScore.ie during a break from training in Leicester.
I expect big things from him not only in the short term but also over a longer period. He’s got all of the skills to become one of the great Australian cricketers.I think they’re going to be once-in-a-generation cricketers. Hopefully they’ll carry the load of our bowling for many years to come. They’re very talented with the ball.
Saturday’s match in Stormont is Australia’s only ODI warm-up ahead of their series opener against England in Lord’s on 26 June. Hussey has promise that they’ll take time to do their homework on an Ireland side still flying high after their win at the World T20 qualifying tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
“We won’t be taking Ireland very lightly at all. They’ve got some very classy players so we’ll really need to nullify their game in order for us to win.
“We’ve got a lot of video highlights. All of the batting groups, bowling groups and fielding groups will be getting together shortly to prepare.
Most of the games we haven’t actually seen but we know from playing against the Irish a few times before or seeing them on telly or through county cricket that they’re a very talented team. We’re going to have to play at our best in order to beat them.
