Cricket: Game better off without fiery spats, says Hussey

Scott Styris and Mitchell Johnson go head to head during the ODI series opener in Napier. Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

Confrontations of the Scott Styris-Mitchell Johnson variety this week don't belong in cricket, according to senior Australian batsman Mike Hussey.

That said, Hussey acknowledged that argy-bargy has long been part of the international game.

The square-off between New Zealand's matchwinner in the opening ODI in Napier and the fiery left-arm fast bowler won't be the last either.

"Fast bowlers are always pretty emotional sorts of guys," Hussey said yesterday. "Mitchell's a pretty passionate guy, he plays the game hard and out in the middle there are always going to be emotions."

Hussey does not go along with any notion that the game will be better for more incidents similar to the Styris-Johnson face-off.

"No, not really. I think we're certainly at our best when we're just concentrating on our cricket and looking to execute our skills and plans," he said.

Hussey, a key figure in Australia's setup since his international debut in 2003-04, said there was no surprise at New Zealand's combative approach.

"Coming to this side of the ditch, we always expect a hard contest and we're getting it. It was no different to what we expected, in the first game, and I'm hoping it'll be very close and tightly contested for the rest of the series," he said.

The idea that there is something special in transtasman clashes was played down by Hussey, who pointed to Australia's strong rivalries with England, South Africa and India.

"But they're always very spirited and tough contests against New Zealand. We enjoy them; we don't expect anything different.

"It's what we've been accustomed to over the years," said Hussey.

Styris was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for a grade one offence under the International Cricket Council's code of conduct for his role in the clash late in the dramatic two-wicket win for New Zealand.

Johnson leaned forward to butt his head against Styris' helmet grille amid an angry exchange of words.

Johnson accepted a grade two punishment, and lost 60 per cent of his match fee.

Match referee Ranjan Madugalle found Styris had contributed to the verbal altercation between the pair, while Johnson had sparked "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play".