Mathews is the most improved cricketer in the world

Two years back, when Phil Hughes made his debut in Test cricket against South Africa and got twin centuries, it was thought that Australia had found an opener to replace Matthew Hayden who had been nudged out after an ordinary series by his standards. Hughes also is a left-hander, not as physically intimidating as Hayden was, but he had got stacks of runs in Shield cricket and so was expected to take over the mantle.

Cricket being the great leveller that it is and with the second season syndrome kicking in, Hughes found runs hard to come by as opponents, alerted to his strengths and weaknesses, were better prepared. He was lucky to hold his place in the team to Sri Lanka and that could well have been because there really is nobody else and so he got the chance to be part of the new look Australian team under Michael Clarke.

He failed in the first two Tests and one of his dismissals which was referred to the third umpire also showed that technology operated by humans is not yet foolproof. Having failed in the first innings of the third Test, the second innings was probably his last chance to establish a place in the team and he grabbed it scoring a hundred and that will take him to South Africa where he made that fantastic debut and he will be hoping that the pitches there will once again be full of runs this time around too.

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The pitches hardly matter for Mike Hussey who keeps getting better and better with age. Be it the pitches back home in Australia or the seamer friendly ones in England and New Zealand or the slow dry ones in the subcontinent, he makes the adjustment to his bat speed and with precise feet movement, presents what must along with Rahul Dravid be the broadest bat in the game.

There is nobody who gives the stability and the thrust when required better than the left-hander and once again it is a tribute to the Australian selectors who showed faith in him when the media wanted him out of the team. He scored hundreds when others were struggling to get twenties in the Ashes series and has continued his good form since in Sri Lanka too. He missed out on a century in each innings in the final Test but his effort as well as the tons from Hughes and skipper Clarke ensured that Australia did not lose the third Test and thus ended up winning it.

For the Lankans, Herath and Angelo Mathews were the standout performers. Herath had to toil to get his seven wickets. Mathews is unable to bowl at the moment because of an injury but he must be the most improved cricketer in the world and once he gets fit to bowl will allow more flexibility to the Lankan skipper.

The Champions League has started and some of the games have gone down to the wire. However it is the deeds in the Test series that are being considered for this week's accolade and it is Mike Hussey, with his superb batting in both innings of the final Test, who is the CEAT International Cricketer of the Week.

Professional Management Group