Hussey fires as North fails and Mr Cricket pulls Test back on track

Australia v England, 1st Test, Brisbane, 2nd day

Australia 5 for 220 (Hussey 81*, Haddin 22*) trail England 260 by 40 runs

ONE week ago Michael Hussey was one of about 20 people in the country who believed he should be in the Test side. 

Yesterday he convinced the other 22 million with one of his most sparkling innings in years.

Hussey single-handedly pulled Australia back from the brink with an unbeaten 81 before day two was abandoned early due to bad light.

North's were made in the last Test in India and also in a Sheffield Shield match three weeks ago. Hussey waited until a week ago - and after making a duck - to manage the feat for the Warriors against Victoria.

Hussey, four years older and with far fewer milestones in the past year, was considered the most vulnerable. After yesterday, however, it is he and not his state captain North who is in the stronger position.

Live Score For Sheffield Shield Match and Australia A v England XI

New South Wales v Tasmania, Sheffield Shield, Sydney, 2nd day

Tasmania 125 & 3 for 73 (Ponting 27) need 90 runs to beat New South Wales 97 & 190 (Katich 36)

Victoria v Western Australia, Sheffield Shield, Melbourne, 2nd day

Victoria 3 for 77 trail Western Australia 368 (Johnson 121*, Voges 95, Robinson 78) by 291 runs

Queensland v South Australia, Sheffield Shield, Brisbane, 2nd day

South Australia 223 & 4 for 32 (Swan 3-14) lead Queensland 196 (Broad 65, Cassell 6-53) by 59 runs

Australia A v England XI, Hobart, 3rd day

Lunch England XI 7 for 445 (Bell 170*, Collingwood 89) lead Australia A 230 by 215 runs

There's time to regain my spot: Haddin

Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin believes he will have ample opportunity to regain his place in the team for the upcoming Ashes series after recovering from an elbow injury.

The Australian team's first choice gloveman when fit, Haddin hasn't played since the World Twenty20 final against England in Barbados last May.

The 32-year-old missed Australia's matches against Pakistan in England and the current tour of India due to the elbow tendon injury, but is confident of proving his fitness in match conditions.

Haddin expects to have a brief hit-out in a Sydney grade game this weekend, before leading NSW against Victoria in a second XI match beginning at Blacktown next Monday.

Australia doesn't play its first international of the season at home until a T20 game against Sri Lanka in Perth on October 31, while the much anticipated five-Test series against England commences in Brisbane on November 25.

Haddin could play one Shield game and several one-day matches before the first Sri Lanka international, but could appear in as many as four Shield fixtures before the first Ashes Test.

"There's quite a lot of games leading up to the Ashes, so from a workload point-of-view, I'm not too concerned about the amount of cricket I'm going to get," Haddin told AAP on Thursday.

"There's definitely enough cricket heading into the Ashes."

Cooley gets new Cricket Australia role

Australia are in need of a new coach and confidant for their pace bowlers after Troy Cooley was chosen to replace Greg Chappell as the head of Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.

Cooley, a part of the Australian team since ending a successful stint as England bowling coach in 2006, will take part in the job of finding his replacement during a transitional period in which he will remain with the Australian team until the end of the 2011 World Cup.

The Australian fast bowling battery has placed an enormous value on Cooley's moral support and technical advice and his shift to replace Chappell, who was recently added to the national selection panel as CA's national talent manager, leaves a significant hole.

"That will be part of my agenda of course (to choose a replacement)," said Cooley.

"Definitely at this level if you've got to pass on some information to somebody you've got to make sure you've got a good relationship with them," said Cooley.

"Relationships are very important and we've got some good people around the squad here, we've got good people at the Centre of Excellence now who all have those big values, and it is an important part."

Chappell's move onto the selection panel means one of the other selectors, apart from chairman Andrew Hilditch, will make way.

CA are yet to decide which of David Boon, Jamie Cox or Merv Hughes will be moved on.