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Hussey confident Australia can 'do some damage'

Australia crashed out in the first round of last year's ICC World Twenty20 but they have a strong enough squad to win it this year, according to the batsman David Hussey

Cricinfo staff
27-Apr-2010
David Hussey, who was part of Australia's 2009 disappointment, believes they can win the ICC World Twenty20 this year  •  Getty Images

David Hussey, who was part of Australia's 2009 disappointment, believes they can win the ICC World Twenty20 this year  •  Getty Images

Australia crashed out in the first round of last year's ICC World Twenty20 but they have a strong enough squad to win it this year, according to the batsman David Hussey. The selectors reacted to the 2009 failure by choosing a group featuring more short-format specialists, with five changes from last year's 15-man outfit.
Hussey and nine other men who went to England less than 12 months ago retained their spots, while Ricky Ponting, Nathan Bracken, James Hopes, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are gone from that squad. The new group under Michael Clarke features several newer faces who have performed well in the Big Bash including Dirk Nannes, Steven Smith, Daniel Christian and Tim Paine.
"I think last year was a failure," Hussey told AAP in St Lucia. "We didn't even make the Super Eights. This year if we all do our job, we can make the Super Eights and hopefully do some damage. I truly believe we've got the squad to go a long way and hopefully make the final and come away with the silverware."
The Australians begin with a warm-up match against Zimbabwe in St Lucia on Tuesday before another practice game on Thursday against Windward Islands. Their tournament proper starts on Sunday against Pakistan and they play Bangladesh three days later, needing at least one win from those two games to progress past the pool stage.
First they must decide on the make-up of their side and several men will be desperate to impress during the two warm-ups including Brett Lee, who has not played for his country since October. An elbow injury sidelined Lee for the Australian summer and early in his IPL return he broke his right thumb.
Lee's form for the Kings XI Punjab had not been ideal; he had figures of 0 for 149 at an economy rate of 10.27 in four games. However, Lee is confident he can be part of Australia's best XI despite the presence of the fast men Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Nannes, and the likelihood that their opener against Pakistan will be played on a slow surface.
"I'm not here to carry the drinks, I'm here to play cricket," Lee said. "We've got four guys who can bowl over 150kph, which is a bit like the 1980s West Indies set-up. We're hoping to use that to our advantage. Even being stopped in the street now, hearing the locals saying that you've got four blokes who can bowl over 150 clicks. The word's travelling about: 'look at this cartel of fast bowlers.'
"I was happy with the way the pace was coming through, late 140s [in the IPL]. Unfortunately I broke my thumb which put me out for about eight days."
If the quick quartet can have an impact it will go a long way to improving Australia's record at the ICC World Twenty20, after they lost a semi-final in the inaugural tournament in 2007. Their performances since last year's disappointment have been strong, with four victories, one tie and two matches abandoned.