Daniel Brettig’s new book Whitewash to Whitewash examines the dark years between Australia’s 5-0 Ashes win in 2006-07 before their stunning resurgence to beat England 5-0 in 2013-14.

One of Australia’s sharpest cricket writers, Brettig watched all this unfold at close quarters. 

• Cabin fever the only thing that can derail Australia 
• Cricket greats are unanimous: ‘butt out Warney’

This extract looks at the internal politics within Australia’s cricket team, and how a breakdown in communication led to a disjointed farewell party for Michael Hussey.

The Boat

January 2013

Australia 3 Sri Lanka 0

‘I’m not going.’

Not much can stop dead an Australian Test squad, particularly one merry from an afternoon celebrating a series win in the SCG dressing room and dressed up for an evening out on Sydney Harbour in one of James Packer’s boats. But those three words, delivered by Michael Hussey in the mezzanine bar of the Quay West apartments that serve as the team’s Sydney base, instantly knocked the wind out of twelve previously billowing sails.

Hussey’s final night as an Australian cricketer had been a point of conjecture for the entire week and a headache for the team manager, Gavin Dovey. When Hussey had alerted the team that Sydney would be the venue of his final Test match, Dovey had thought of only two things: how is Hussey going to be farewelled, and what does his wife, Amy, think about it?

Having worked through several nights of the Perth Test match against South Africa to ensure Ricky Ponting’s departure would be as fitting as possible, Dovey felt he was up to the task. He had secured the forty-one bottles of Penfolds grange that recognised each of Ponting’s Test centuries; Dovey and his fiancée, Carly, had individually tagged each bottle with a brief outline of the hundred it represented. The farewell party had also been a feat of logistics: after Ponting’s wife, Rianna, objected to the idea of hiring a Perth bar or restaurant, Adam and Mel Gilchrist had worked with Dovey to cater for a suitably large party at their home and had then pushed it forward by a day when the Test ended early.

So Dovey’s beeline for Amy Hussey was logical. Among his first orders of business was to inform her that Michael Clarke had organised the Packer boat cruise as an event to close the Test summer. Amy was uneasy about the boat – for safety reasons children would not be permitted – and she did not want the family to be separated on the night. Thinking about alternatives, Dovey then spoke to Hussey and Clarke, and the former indicated his keenness to go on the boat and said that he would speak with Amy. Clarke was open to diverting from the boat option but equally clear that any cancellation would need to be made with a reasonable alternative in mind.

Foreseeing potential trouble ahead, Dovey then spoke to Hussey’s manager, Neil Maxwell. Like Hussey, he said he would speak with Amy, something he did without changing her mind. ‘Certainly, Maxy was trying to persuade Amy at the match, saying, “You’ve got to go on the boat,” and Amy was saying, “No, I don’t want to go on the boat; it’s not what I want to do”,’ Hussey says. ‘You can’t make someone do something they really don’t want to do. It was an awkward situation for Gav, no question about that. He’s trying to manage the team and what’s best for the team but he’s also trying to manage my last Test match and keeping myself and my family all happy as well. It was a tough situation.’

Meanwhile, gifts were arranged for Hussey: a top-of-the-line watch, plus an in-person rendition of ‘True Blue’ by John Williamson after the Test. When Williamson walked into the dressing room, guitar in hand, Hussey was delighted.

Not having heard otherwise, Dovey had concluded by that time that the Husseys were settled on the cruise option. Few knew they had actually decided they would not be going. As the afternoon festivities made their way towards evening, Dovey stood up and announced the plans for the rest of the night.

During those hours in the dressing room, several players mentioned the harbour cruise to Hussey. Seldom eager to make waves or promote a confrontation, Hussey batted them away with homilies like ‘I’ve had my time’, ‘It’ll be a great night’ and ‘You guys will have fun’, though never quite spelling out his intention not to go. Nathan Lyon, to whom Hussey had bequeathed the team song, had little idea that a long night’s reminiscing and celebrating with Hussey was about to be cut short. When the players began to move off from the SCG in their usual assortment of minibuses, Clarke travelled home rather than to the hotel. He and his wife were to meet the team at the dock.

Shane Watson, who had not been in the dressing rooms but went to Quay West to see Hussey, waited in the mezzanine bar as the players and their partners slowly emerged from their rooms for an 8pm departure. Settling in were several members of the support staff who also had children with them and would be staying at the hotel for drinks and pizzas. Hussey, Amy, their children and other family members soon joined the group and looked very much like a brood not intending to go anywhere. Nevertheless, the scene was made hazier by alcohol, and most of the assembling team were still convinced that Hussey would be joining them.

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