Mike Hussey Joins Australia's Coaching Group As Consultant

Mike Hussey has joined Australia's coaching group as a consultant coach. He will advise on campaign strategy, opposition analysis, player scouting and T20 performance. The role sits inside Andrew McDonald's staff. It begins with the white-ball series against England at home this month.

Hussey played more than 300 matches for Australia. He made 19 Test centuries across an eight-year international career before retiring at the start of 2013.

The brief Hussey takes on

The remit is advisory rather than day to day. Cricket Australia has framed it around four campaigns, running from this month through to the end of the decade.

• ODI and T20I series against England, in Australia this month
• The next Ashes series
• ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027
• The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where T20 cricket features
• The following ICC Men's T20 World Cup cycle

Starting with the England series

The England white-ball series is the first test of the arrangement. It is also the shortest runway. Hussey joins a group already preparing for a home summer and a World Cup year.

Four campaigns on the horizon

The Olympic element is the unusual one. Cricket returns to the Games in Los Angeles in 2028 in a T20 format, and Australia have not previously had to plan for an Olympic cricket cycle. Hussey's T20 brief covers it.

His coaching record is largely franchise based. He has worked in the IPL and in The Hundred. The ICC also credits him with a role in England's ICC Men's T20 World Cup success.

Inside McDonald's group

"I am extremely excited about being a part of the team in a more formal and meaningful role in the coming years," Hussey said.

McDonald pointed past the technical side. "Not only is his expertise as a player and coach across multiple formats, competitions, countries invaluable, so are his qualities as a person," the Australia coach said.

Australia play England first. Everything else follows from there.