Hussey backs his captain

Mike Hussey was one of the occasional bowlers turned to by captain Ricky Ponting

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Michael Hussey claims his Australia captain Ricky Ponting has no case to answer over his controversial tactics in the Nagpur Test - insisting he would have done exactly the same, had he been leading the team.

Ponting has come under fire for his decision to use part-time bowlers at a critical stage of the fourth and final Test - lost as the final act of a 2-0 series defeat against India.

Hussey, with his occasional medium-pace, was one of the bowlers turned to by Ponting.

It was suggested Ponting was putting his individual concerns, a possible suspension for an unacceptable over-rate, ahead of his team’s chances of winning the Test and therefore levelling the series.

But middle-order batsman Hussey believes Ponting had every right to be concerned about avoiding suspension, because his absence would have hurt the Aussies in the forthcoming Test series against New Zealand, starting in Brisbane on November 20.

“Being a captain, there's probably 50 different ways you can go about doing things,” said Hussey.

“I think he did the right thing. I'm 100 per cent behind Ricky.

“I think we were about nine-and-a-half overs down in the over-rate at the time.

“We were heavily criticised last year about our spirit of the game, the way we played and the win-at-all-costs perception that was out there.

“If we took that mentality again - the win at all costs - in the last Test in India, then we wouldn't have our captain available for the next maybe two or three Test matches.”

Ponting’s presence as captain and lynchpin batsman is priceless to Australia, Hussey contends.

“As the captain of the Australian team, it's very, very important that he's available and playing for us - and it's important for our team to be playing the game in the right spirit,” he said.

Ponting chews the fat with umpire Billy Bowden and batsman Harbhajan Singh on the fourth day

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“I think we just need to focus on what we're doing. We were slow in our over rates, really slow - so maybe that's an area we need to develop some strategies to get better at.”

The highest run-scorer in the side during the India tour, Hussey would trade his 394 runs at 56.28 for a series win.

“It doesn't really matter how you go as an individual," said the former Northamptonshire and Durham batsman.

“We lost the series 2-0, so it's a pretty bitter pill to swallow.

“I would have been happy not score any runs whatsoever if we won the series 2-0 rather than lose."

Hussey believes there were positive signs for the future, even in defeat, for Australia.

The return of Andrew Symonds to the international side and spinner Jason Krejza's 12 wickets at 29.83 on debut in Nagpur provide Hussey with encouragement for the six Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.

“Krejza's Test debut was absolutely outstanding,” said Hussey. “The Indians are arguably the best players of spin around the world, and he managed to get out top-quality players.

“I was really inspired by his performance actually.

“Symonds is a great bloke to have around the dressing room.

“It's important to have great characters like Andrew Symonds around the team - particularly when things are tough.”