When it comes to Nottinghamshire overseas players, Paul Franks believes his former teammate David Hussey is up there among the greats.

The Assistant Head Coach, who shared a dressing room with the recently retired batsman for a decade, needs little invitation to wax lyrical about Hussey’s abilities on the cricket field.

He is, however, just as quick to praise the former Australian international as a man.

Asked for three words that best describe the 39-year-old legend, Franks opts for: “quirky”, “destructive” and “friend”.

“He was quirky because he had the ability to play the game in a way that was different – a way lots of other people would like to play it.

“He’s the most consistently destructive of our overseas players during my time at the club.

“His stats would back that up. He won game, after game, after game.

 “He deserves all the accolades that come his way after a very, very, very good career.

“He was also a really good friend and immediately a great personality at a time when we needed that because we were rebuilding.

“He still views Trent Bridge as a second home, which I think is a testament to the kind of bloke he is.”

When Hussey first signed for Nottinghamshire ahead of the 2004 season, he had little reputation to precede him having only debuted for Victoria the previous year.

But the gamble was to pay off, in a big way.

Hussey powered ten first-class centuries in two years, as Nottinghamshire won promotion in his debut campaign then immediately romped to their first County Championship title the following year.

A first-class average in excess of 60 surely wasn’t sustainable in the long-term.

It was, for David Hussey, who also won countless matches for the Outlaws in white ball cricket.

He averaged 61, 38 and 36 in the respective formats over a decade with the Club.

“He was a very shrewd signing at a time when we didn’t know too much about him. All we had was a strong recommendation.

“It became evident very quickly that he was a top-class player. He could stand tall amongst all the Trent Bridge greats.

“In terms of what he produced, I look back and think of the double century against Essex and numerous one-day innings where I was transfixed by his batting.

“He had the ability, not just to score runs, but to absolutely destroy bowlers and to be a match-winner.

“He was also a quality guy with it. He was mostly around for the whole summer and he settled.

“He embraced the dressing room, the members and the supporters and – doing that – you can’t underestimate its importance.”

 

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