Hussey will open if needed

The under-pressure Michael Hussey will return to open if asked, but believes Shane Watson is currently the best man for the top spot. Shane Warne has joined the critics who believe Hussey is on his last legs, with him saying the batsman should have shifted places to fit Watson into the middle order.

Hussey has scored reasonably well in the first two Tests against West Indies, with 66, 41 and 29, but has been scratchy, especially at the start of his innings. While he is happy to move around, he said it wasn't his role to ask the selectors or Ricky Ponting for a switch in the batting order.

"They haven't approached me and at this stage they see Shane as the best option to open - and he has responded affirmatively - with me at No. 4," Hussey said in the Sunday Telegraph. "I would happily open the batting for Australia. But Shane Watson proved in the Adelaide Test that he has the technique and temperament to be a very good opener for Australia. Shane can obviously handle the workload as an allrounder."

Marcus North is a state and national team-mate of Hussey and was "pretty shocked" by the criticism. "There's been a bit of debate about his position, but his form over in India in one-day cricket has been outstanding, he finished the last Test match in England with a fine hundred and he's walked into Brisbane and Adelaide in great form,'' North told AAP. ''He would have liked to turn some of those starts into three figures, but he is hitting the ball as well as anyone in the Australian batting line-up and hopefully this week once he gets going the three figures will be coming Huss' way."

Mark Taylor, the former Test captain, has called for Michael Clarke to move up a spot to No. 4, which is Hussey's current place. Clarke has been the team's form batsman in 2009, scoring 941 runs at 58.81, and held the innings together as Australia scrapped a draw in Adelaide last week.

"There's no doubt Ricky Ponting has been our best in the last five to 10 years but I'd certainly talk about Michael in the same breath now," Taylor said in the Sunday Mail. "He's in that elite category. I think he's ready to go up the order. He should move up to No.4 any time from now on.

"He's the sort of player who can play any type of innings now. He can put pressure on the bowlers and score quickly or, as he showed the other day, he can hold up the other end and tough it out."