The Ashes 2010: Mike Hussey saves Australian blushes yet again

But for the H team, Australia would not have had a total at all. The graft came from Michael Hussey, the glitz from Brad Haddin, who at least gave a little cheer to three-quarters of the crowd with his exotic late-evening stroke play.

But for this pair, England might have prevailed at Brisbane. Here they saved Australia from complete ignominy. Hussey and Haddin were the only batsmen to give Andrew Strauss a headache on a day that must have exceeded the England's captain's dreams – and he never seems much of a fantasist.

• Interactive guide to all the Ashes venues
• Sign up now for our weekly email The Spin
• How to stay awake during the Tests
• Follow our daily blog throughout the Ashes
• The latest news and comment on our Ashes site

Hussey and Haddin might have been jaded after their efforts at The Gabba; instead they were the two Australians bristling with confidence against a superbly disciplined and driven England side.

We know all about Hussey's ambition or commitment. Before he made his belated entry into Australia's Test team he did his service with the A side, which at one point was managed by Allan Border.

Hussey was eager for any advice from Border. One gem was: "Always ensure that your practice replicates as closely as possible what happens in the middle." So what did Hussey do in the unforgiving heat of Perth? He organised himself a net and a posse of bowlers. Then he batted for two hours from 10 o'clock to midday, whereupon he took a break of 40 minutes. Then he batted for another two hours before resting for 20 minutes. Then another two hours.

The logic was inescapable. If the goal for Hussey was to bat for a whole day, then he would practise by doing just that. There may not be enough bowlers around Western Australia for him to do this on a regular basis.

It is easy for the smart-asses to ridicule such dedication. Justin Langer once shadow-batted on the edge of the square at Taunton to the incredulity of second-team cricketers playing in a match alongside. This included Langer hitting imaginary shots, running all of his runs, and according to legend, raising his bat to the imaginary crowd on completion of his hundred. One or two youngsters, who are probably still in those second teams, may have mocked him. I think Langer scored a century the next day. Those West Australians are a tough breed.

It is one thing to play a match/career-saving innings when lodged in the dreaded last-chance saloon, which is where Hussey found himself in Brisbane. It is another to do it again in the following match. Look back at other monumental innings. Mike Atherton was never sure how much that epic 185 not out at Johannesburg took out of him in 1995. What is certain is that he only passed 50 once more in that series.

The mammoth innings, so I am told, drains the mind as much as the body. It is tough to rediscover that beady-eyed hunger at the flick of a switch the next time you go to the crease.

Both body and mind have to be honed to peak fitness. The eyes must be sharp, not glazed. Hussey has achieved this quite brilliantly in his last two innings. Maybe he was playing for his Test career a couple of weeks ago, but now the rest is "husstory" as the West Australian newspaper should put it.

This was another model knock, which adapted to the various challenges posed by an admirable attack, backed up by a fielding effort that has seldom been equalled by an England touring side in Australia. The policy of the clever bowling side at Adelaide is to try to bowl the opposition out in the first hour and to bore them out thereafter – or at least until the second new ball is available.

Hussey was equal to both modes of England's attack. At the start his conscientiousness was demonstrated by the fact that he was actually ready. He was, after all, required to face the 14th ball of the day, which is beyond the expectation of even the most pessimistic of No5s. Moreover, he knew that his team was doomed if he failed, a different kind of pressure to last week.

A couple of mistakes from him and Australia were right out of the game. He made one small error when he had scored three. Leaning back a fraction, he pushed the ball back down the pitch in the air. Out stretched Jimmy Anderson's left hand but the ball refused to lodge there, England's solitary blemish in the field.

Australia needed reviving from the shock of their worst ever start in Test cricket. Hussey drove with certainty whenever the ball was over-pitched, most often when Steven Finn was bowling. And, in contrast to several of his colleagues, he ran between the wickets decisively and with good judgment.

He had another intriguing duel with Graeme Swann. The off-spinner bowled much better than at Brisbane; there was nothing for Hussey to pull through mid-wicket. Still, the left-hander used his feet adeptly. Sometimes he was able to drive the ball through that midwicket area without such a stroke looking dangerous. Swann could not subdue him.

Yet this is no one-sided duel. Eventually Swann gained some revenge; a deftly flighted off-break spun just enough and soon Hussey was marching off having been caught at slip. It is not difficult to understand why the England side were cock-a-hoop. Hussey has become the key wicket.

Haddin might have caused mayhem late in the afternoon but he was stranded after laying his foundations impeccably. Again it was a run-out that triggered Australian despair. Strauss, Alastair Cook and Matt Prior combined as if they had been tutored by Graham Henry: swift to the breakdown, there were quick passes and safe hands while the Australians dithered.

Once Haddin hoisted Anderson way over the long-leg boundary, a stunning stroke which travelled a distance of 85 yards. He might have caused more damage but he was soon stranded with Doug Bollinger and no one quite knows whether "The Rug" is going to reach 50 Test runs before 50 Test wickets. So any caution was thrown to the winds and he sacrificed himself. It was a waste, for Haddin is batting much better than most of the batsmen.