Future bright for Aussies

Michael Hussey has praised Australia's depth following its Test and one-day series victories over the West Indies, saying the new faces coming through the ranks would keep the established players on their toes.

Hussey arrived in Perth on Monday evening flanked by two of those emerging players, his Western Australian team-mates Shaun Marsh and Luke Ronchi, who both stepped up to the plate and delivered impressive performances during the 5-0 ODI series whitewash of the host nation.

And, while conceding players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist would take time to replace, Hussey felt there was no reason Australia's dominance of international cricket could not continue.

"It's very exciting to know that we've lost so many great players from our team (and) to know that we've still got that depth," said Hussey.

"That was probably one of the big question marks. Could these young guys come in and perform at the top level?"

"And, we've seen it already, guys like Shaun Marsh and Luke Ronchi in particular, come in and do a fantastic job and really put everyone on notice."

Despite the series victories, it certainly wasn't all plain sailing for the Australians after Matthew Hayden, Brad Haddin and skipper Ricky Ponting were all forced to return home with injuries at various stages of the tour.

But, fresh from encouraging performances in the Indian Premier League, Marsh and Ronchi stepped in to fill Hayden and Haddin's positions during the one-day series, with Marsh blasting 81 on debut and Ronchi bludgeoning 64 off 28 balls during the final one-day clash, which Australia eventually won by a massive 169 runs.

Hussey, however, feels the pair's performances in the ODIs, and Simon Katich's superb form while opening in Hayden's absence during the Tests, was a direct result of Australia's strong domestic competitions, which was ensuring the national team had significant depth for many years to come.

"It's good to know we've got excellent first class players who are just champing at the bit to get an opportunity to play international cricket," said Hussey.

"They (domestic players) know their games well and you just know that if they are given an opportunity they will succeed. So that is good and it probably keeps everyone who is in the team at the moment really on their toes as well."

Another new face staking his claim for selection is Hussey's brother David, who has been on the verge of international selection after producing a string of impressive performances for the Bushrangers.
Although he only managed two ODI appearances for Australia, David Hussey scored 50 and 52, with his second half-century in the final match of the series smashed off 19 balls.

Michael Hussey, however, was more impressed with his brother's ability to mould his performance around team requirements, rather than just his ability to score quickly.

"I batted with him in the last game, albeit too briefly (and) his batting was unbelievable really," said Hussey.

"I thought in his first game he showed a lot of composure (as) we needed a bit of a partnership and him and Andrew Symonds batted really well together."

"Then we also saw how destructive he can be at the end of the innings as well ... so he's another perfect example of someone ... who just needed an opportunity to show he can play and succeed at the highest level."

"When we were kids we didn't get on that well, we used to fight like cats and dogs ... (but) it was great to have him there and I know Mum and Dad were really proud as well."