Underneath the Southern Cross

by Michael Hussey

Michael Hussey's huge popularity does not rest solely on his incredible playing record. Popularly known as Mr Cricket, he made his Test debut against the West Indies in Brisbane in November 2005, and has scored 6,183 Test runs over 78 Tests in his career. But to his fans, it is the way he plays the game rather than simply the sum of his achievements that marks him out as one of the best-loved cricketers of his generation. He is a middle-order maestro with a batting average of 51.52, but he has always played cricket with an integrity and sense of values that is the epitome of what cricket stands for. His autobiography takes you behind the scenes to his world of cricket. From his lengthy struggle to break into the Australian side, through to his masterly achievements in the Australian team, in ODI and Indian Premier League, this book follows his extraordinary cricket career, with plenty of surprisingly frank admissions and behind the scenes dramas.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

386 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2013

Reviews

[Joel Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very honest and modest account of Michael Hussey's career through to his retirement from Australian cricket. Obviously he talks about his own stories, but a lot of the focus is on his insecurities, praising those around him and his desire to benefit whichever team he happens to be playing for. It was a very easy read which is probably more enjoyable if you can remember some of the key moments he refers to. He is not a literary master, which is good, as his focus has been on making himself the best cricketer he can be and not writing novels. They talk about cricket being a "gentleman's game", well Hussey is that gentleman that they're talking about.

[AmayM · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography by Mike Hussey gives us the insights of his past and the insecurities he experienced as a Cricketer. This book did have some mistakes with the statistics. Like in the statistic section it states 165 days to reach 100 runs when it should be '166' days to reach '1,000' test runs also, it states that Hussey took 19 innings to score 100 runs when in fact it should be 1,000 runs. Furthermore, the book contained a number of grammar mistakes. Regardless of the mistakes I can say that it was a pretty good book. I honestly didn't realise the insecurities that Mike Hussey faced during his time as a Cricketer. Although it is not the most colourful of autobiographies, I can understand after reading this book, why Hussey retired in the end.

[Rohin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! The way Michael Hussey has written about his journey through cricket drew me in straight away. Like most biographies, this book will not be for everyone. But if you like cricket, and want to learn about a cricketers journey, this book will be for you.

[Ashleigh Motbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great insight into one of my favourite cricketer's careers. Michael Hussey was an inspiration to cricket and a very talented player, but even he had his doubts and insecurities. Being able to get into his head was wonderful.

[Elijah M]

Micheal Hussey the book

I have decided to read this book because I love sport but mainly cricket and love hearing what they had to go through to be a cricket player. I wasn't told about this book i saw it in the sports section and got attached to it. Michael Hussey is an amazing cricketer and father so i want to take stuff out of this book. I haven’t heard anyone talk about this book so hopefully it meets my standard to be fun and teach me the standards of how to be a Australian cricket player. The blurb was interesting so that’s why I am reading it.

Michael Hussey is really who they say he is. He is the kind of man you want to be around. As I’m 50% through this terrific book I am willing to share a bit about it. Shane Warne is playing a big role on the pitch for the Aussies ending them in a comeback win as most people would have said England had the game in the bag. Shane Warne is getting wickets why the batsmen and bowlers are doing their job as for Michael Hussey he is not making runs but he is definitely showing leadership. He tells game by game the ups and the downs as he begins to be a captain he is shocked at how hard it was not as easy as he thought. He commented saying “my bowlers aren’t listening to me and not hearing to my plan which as captain I should have the responsibility to set my field.” The team has just recently in the book gone to the world cup and are striving for the world cup, one player called Matthew Hayden is loving it most off all hitting runs. I have loved this book so far and will continue to read this till the end.
I loved this book as i am so into cricket. It showed the Ups and the downs that Michael himself had in his career the people he got along with the people he didn’t. He in his cricket career was nearly forced to stop as his wife had a bay but nearly went really badly. Fortunately for him and his family his kids are healthy and living a normal life. He had a brilliant career with the bat scoring a lot of runs all throughout if you want an understanding of how it is as a professional cricketer or the journey/process it is i would recommend to read this. Michael made many friends dating back from when he started the game in 1996 to now where he still has lifelong friends. As of today him the man Michael is now retired but is playing 20/20 for the Sydney thunder every year in December/January. This book was outstanding I loved reading it as it showed me the steps from a young kid to a teenager and then all of a sudden being a professional cricketer. I would recommend this to people who has a knowledge about cricket and it’ll give a deeper understanding how hard it is.

[Anthony Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was pleasantly surprised with this book, while being a cricket aficionado. I do not usually indulge in biographies or memoirs penned by cricketers. I received this as a gift and honestly enjoyed it immensely. Of course the content included the obligatory fluff, however I found the majority was honest and in parts confronting. I loved his observation after scoring his first Test run, that you could have all the money in the world but you still couldn't buy a run at Test level. Hussey wasn't backward in coming forward about his opinions on the changing dynamic of the Australian dressing room either, which provided fascinating insight. Overall an entertaining, enjoyable and thought provoking read.

[Brett]

it is a very good book I like how at the start they talk about how he became a great cricketer and talks about his junior cricket life. when he got picked for the Australian team with the bagey yellow hat he didn't think he would get picked for the team he did not bat well he was fielding pretty good then they told him we picked you because you will be the next big thing. it is a very good book I like how at the start they talk about how he became a great cricketer and talks about his junior cricket life. when he got picked for the Australian team with the bagey yellow hat he didn't think he would get picked for the team he did not bat well he was fielding pretty good then they told him we picked you because you will be the next big thing.

[RaviSuman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a good account of Mike Hussey's life as a cricketer. It really lacked insights into his practice, on how he overcame setbacks. He tells everywhere he wanted every team to win he played with. But there is no account of how he built the team, how particularly he practiced. I expected more account of his practice.

[Michael Guidera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mike tells his story well enough. It lacked detail about what he was applying himself to in order to succeed at the level he managed. Only two stars because this is more of a yarn aimed at 15 year olds.