Steve Rixon has suggested Michael Hussey as opener in ODI series against Pakistan.
Australian stand-in coach Steve Rixon has suggested Michael Hussey will open the batting alongside David Warner in the ODI series against Pakistan, which gets underway in Sharjah on Tuesday.Injury to Shane Watson saw Matthew Wade partner Warner at the top of the knock in Julys fifth and final ODI against England and he remained the position for the one-off clash against Afghanistan on Saturday, when he scored a fine half-century.Rixon and captain Michael Clarke, however, are eager to manage Wades workload appropriately amid his additional of keeping wicket for a full 50 overs in the sapping United Arab Emirates heat.Hussey partnered Murali Vijay at the top of the knock during the Chennai Super Kings 2012 Indian Premier League campaign. The veteran left-hander put in a string of valuable knocks, including a couple of brisk half-tons against eventual champions Kolkata Knight Riders.Clarke, meanwhile, stressed the importance the role spinners Glenn Maxwell, Xavier Doherty and Steven Smith will play in the three-match series.Pakistan, too, sport the services of a slew of slow bowlers in Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman for conditions that are bound to prove low, slow and full of turn.