Winning Edge is an excellent book and takes you inside the dressing room, onto the field and into the mind of one of Australia's best elite cricketers, Mike Hussey

Hussey has revealed he had been approached by VVS Laxman during the IPL 2015 while he was playing for Chennai Super Kings to know about his interest in being the next head coach of the Indian Cricket team.  Hussey says he had turned down the offer at that time so that he could continue spending time with his family and make up for some lost time from the previous few years and also because he was not ready for a post of head coach of an international cricket team, instead preferring to start out as an assistant coach.

Hussey believes "these days coaching is not just about coaching players.  It's about dealing with boards, sponsors, business owners, investors, officials, all sorts of people outside the team environment.  It's a very complex job that requires numerous skills that have little or nothing to do with cricket."

Hussey is full of praise for Adam Gilchrist and says there is plenty of proof that the players who had the best on-field image have ended up in interesting and enjoyable post-career positions. "Adam Gilchrist played the game fairly and brilliantly, was respectful towards opponents and honourable in his role as a custodian of the baggy green.  He was also a fierce competitor who was loyal and honest.  He had a good sense of humour, was a good operator in a big room and was so down to earth he could talk to the average Joe or the prime minister.  There is no doubt in my mind that Adam's image from his playing days set him up for a great future of opportunities in business, media and different organisations."

According to Mike Hussey, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis were some of the best players ever to grace the field. "They both had an uncanny ability to bat for entire days, remain unfazed when fielding for sessions in a row and, if a sharp catching chance came their way at 5.40 pm on day four, they would almost always snap it up as though it was the morning of day one. Two of Australia's greatest players, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, fitted into that group.  They were among the most cricket-fit players I ever witnessed."

Playing cricket for the love of it had always come naturally to Hussey.  He believes "the physical and mental challenges and the camaraderie of working towards a goal with your teammates was all I ever needed to push me towards being at my absolute peak.  The rest - the parties, the money, the travel - is great.  But, really, it was always just a bonus.  The focus for me was consistently and overwhelmingly on becoming as good a cricketer as I could possibly be, as an individual and as a contributor to the teams I represented."

Hussey says that he was taught a four-step goal-setting strategy that worked wonders for him at all stages of his career - Outcome goal, Performance goal, Process goal and Initial goal.  He adds that meditation, used as part of his mental-preparation routine, offered real benefits in the later stage of his career and in his life in general.

A superb publication in all respects.

We are thankful to Emma Marijewycz, Hardie Grant Books, for sending the review copy for our website.