Melbourne, September 11: David Hussey knows that his team – the Victorian Bushrangers – might not have as many big-name international stars as some of the other teams in the fray in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, but he believes the team camaraderie the Bushrangers have will give them an edge over others.
Hussey believes the Delhi Daredevils will be the team to beat, as they boast of arguably the most talent-laden squad in the tournament thanks largely to high-calibre imports such as AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah and Bushranger Dirk Nannes.
But what Victoria lacks in big-name superstars, it makes up for with a strong sense of ‘team’, according to Hussey.
“I reckon that’s got a lot to do with it,” Hussey said.
“They (Delhi) have got a lot of overseas players, a lot of the other teams have (too).”
“Whereas we sort of train together, eat together, sleep together sort of thing and I think that’s got a huge bearing on how we actually play and I think you’ll come out and see our plans executed perfectly.”
However, for his team to emerge champions, Hussey believes they will have to get past Delhi.
“They’ve got Virender Sehwag up front with Gautam Gambhir – two match-winners that can take away a game in any two overs sort of thing,” he said.
“They’re also led at the front of the attack with two left-armers, Ashish Nehra and Dirky Nannes so we’re going to have to play at our best to actually compete with them but I reckon we can cause a little bit of a surprise.”
With the two teams being in the same group, it won’t take long for Hussey and company to test themselves against the Daredevils.
Hussey highlighted Delhi’s blend of international and home-grown stars as the prime reason behind its formidability, but the 32-year-old believes Victoria has its own fair share of match-winners – none more so than skipper Cameron White.
White has hit 52, 43 and 105 in three knocks for Australia coming in at No.3 during the current one-day series against England and has been a major reason for the visitors’ commanding 3-0 lead.
Hussey revealed the Bushrangers have drawn a lot of confidence from the way White has been performing on the eve of the Twenty20 Champions League.
“He’s our leader, he played particularly well in the (Sheffield) Shield final last year (scoring 124) and he plays Twenty20 so well,” he said. “So hopefully he can continue that form on for Cricket Victoria and we can have a great Champions League.”
Notable players participating in the Twenty20 Champions League:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL): Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Anil Kumble, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor
Cape Cobras (South Africa): Graeme Smith, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki
Deccan Chargers (IPL): Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, VVS Laxman, Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Harris, Rohit Sharma
Delhi Daredevils (IPL): AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Paul Collingwood, Gautam Gambhir, Dirk Nannes, Owais Shah
Diamond Eagles (South Africa): Boeta Dippenaar
NSW Blues (Australia): Simon Katich, Nathan Hauritz, Phil Hughes, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Brett Lee, David Warner
Otago Volts (New Zealand): Brendon McCullum, Neil Broom, Aaron Redmond, Craig Cumming
Somerset Sabres (England): Justin Langer, Marcus Trescothick
Sussex Sharks (England): Luke Wright, Piyush Chawla
Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies): Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Ganga
Victorian Bushrangers (Australia): Cameron White, Peter Siddle, David Hussey, Brad Hodge, Andrew McDonald
Wayamba (Sri Lanka): Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Michael Vandort, Jehan Mubarak
—–Agencies