Phase one of David Hussey's plan to regain his one-day place has been achieved with his first ODI hundred, but he knows more will be needed before he wins another promotion. Hussey spent most of the 2007-08 season as a fixture in the side without demanding a regular spot and was omitted for the England and Champions Trophy 50-over campaigns.
What he still has is a Twenty20 position and because Australia were using the one-dayer against Scotland as preparation for Sunday's match against England, he was given a go. After 87 balls he had 111, having boomed five sixes and 10 fours in the type of innings which got him noticed originally with Victoria.
"I haven't really set any targets, I'm just taking every opportunity I can now," Hussey said. "I missed a little bit with one-day international cricket, I haven't grabbed it with both hands. For me any opportunity I get the aim is to take full toll."
In 22 ODIs before the game in Edinburgh he had four half-centuries but no certainty and was unsure of the reasons for his troubles. "I kept getting out, unfortunately," he said. "Hopefully I get another chance and will be a bit better prepared and the results will be a lot different. The first [hundred] against Scotland, great wicket, great ground, one I'll remember."
Hussey, who was wearing four layers to counter the cold, took out his frustration on the offspinner Majid Haq, launching him for four sixes in three overs. The next goal is to back up at Old Trafford on Sunday, when England hope to build on their Ashes success in the shortest form of the game.
"We put a good statement on how we want to play, so far so good," Hussey said. "We've won one, hopefully we can win one on Sunday."
Hussey will be in England for only 10 days before going back to Victoria and gearing up for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India. "It's not ideal," he said of the schedule, "but you've got to adapt to different situations".
While Australia won by 189 runs, Scotland were not disappointed in their display. As Hussey was accelerating the tourists were heading for a lot more than their 345 all out. Gordon Goudie helped stop a late burst by taking four wickets in his final two overs to finish with 5 for 73.
"I'm very happy with the way we handled ourselves in the last 10 overs of their innings because they could have gone on to get 400," the captain Gavin Hamilton said. "For Gordon to pick up five wickets against Australia is second to none. We came hard at them with the bat because that's the way we want to play, and we found out a lot about the character of a few personnel."