Hussey keeps the faith as shaken Aussies try to smooth troubled waters

At Sydney, they equalled the record of 16 consecutive Test victories by beating India but were vilified at home and abroad, guilty of over-the-top celebrations and the failure of a few batsmen to walk.

In Perth last weekend they suffered a surprise loss but were praised by all and sundry, having conducted themselves like choirboys.

It is a curious state of affairs in a country where winning is supposedly all and it seems the more bizarre to be discussing it at the Adelaide Oval of all places.

As any England follower knows, this was where the Australian winning machine was at its most crushing 13 months ago when they pulled off a sickening six-wicket triumph on the final day when the tourists froze.

Hussey was a major part of that, guiding his team home with an unbeaten 61 in an awesome display that seems long forgotten in the wake of the ill-feeling created by Sydney.

Adelaide tomorrow hosts the fourth and final Test against India and Harbhajan Singh — who denies the allegation that he called Andrew Symonds 'a monkey' at the SCG — might return to test Australia's new-found saintliness.

Hussey said: 'Yes, it has been a bit strange and it's disappointing that some of the stuff that has come out is far from the truth. We were criticised for celebrating too much but it was a very emotional win and I had much the same feeling as I did when we beat England here, for instance.

'I actually thought that the Sydney Test was played in a good spirit. It wasn't meant to be any disrespect to India at the end. I disagreed with Anil Kumble (who echoed Bodyline by asserting that only one team was playing in the spirit of the game).

'Harbhajan getting Ricky Ponting out at Sydney and doing cartwheels didn't have much said about it.

'But we were criticised and so before Perth we had a meeting which gave us a chance to revisit how we play the game. Mentally, I think we were slightly down in that match on what we might have been. It will be interesting to see what happens here.'

Hussey is a decent man and a diplomat but make no mistake the Australians, 2-1 up in the series, are stewing at what they see as double standards.

They have a point. The desire not to offend India has spread to most parts of the media and another thing almost unmentioned has been India's even gaudier post-match celebrations in Perth when Harbajhan, accompanied by others, ran on to the pitch waving an Indian flag.

The Symonds issue still looms large ahead of the hearing that will follow this Test and three Australian players swear they clearly heard Harbhajan make a series of offensive 'monkey' references.

So do not necessarily expect another 'After you, Claude' type of performance from Australia, although they know being a winning team is not enough for many here. They need to show they can be good sports as well. In pure cricketing terms the perception after just one defeat is that, 18 months ahead of the Ashes, a few cracks may be showing.

Of course, Shane Warne is irreplaceable and the famed 'squeeze' he could assert with Glenn McGrath is no more but it would be foolhardy to think Australia will be anything less than hugely formidable.

Given McGrath was beset by injury in 2005 their pace bowling is, in fact, likely to be stronger next time they are in England.

Hussey said: 'Brett Lee has gone up a notch, Stuart Clark is an able replacement for Glenn, Mitchell Johnson is an outstanding prospect and Shaun Tait has that X-factor. I also hope we'll have a very strong and settled batting line-up.

'I know we didn't play swing well in the first innings at Perth but a lot of us have played it well before. And we've got our culture but I reckon England will be pretty strong too.'

Not that he is preoccupied with the Ashes. In fact, the man known as 'Mr Cricket' was not even aware of such things as Matt Prior's omission as wicketkeeper and Andrew Strauss's recall to face New Zealand.

The memory of last year at Adelaide, though, brings a glow. 'Before that final morning we made a clear plan not to try to attack too much but to try to strangle them and pick up the odd wicket. Once we did that the pressure was on and hitting the winning runs was probably the best moment of my career.'

The Australians knew they had the series won then, especially when England wasted no time in coming into their dressing room to drown sorrows. Andrew Flintoff was apparently the vodka cocktailmaker- in-chief and Steve Harmison unburdened himself on opposition players with an openness they found disarming.

England's response to losing 5-0 in the last Ashes was to commission an inquiry and add an expensive layer of management bureaucracy to the team.With the peculiar exception of Perth, Australia have kept on winning. No, do not expect the 2009 Ashes to be easy.