South Africans and Australians would have been stopped in their tracks by the sight that greeted them at the Proteas' training session at Junction Oval in St Kilda yesterday.
Yes, that was Mike Hussey. And, yes, he was wearing a South African shirt.
Hussey's appointment by South Africa as a consultant for the World Cup was reported earlier this month and yesterday was his first day on the job.
The former Australian batsman was seen in earnest conversation with Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. With Du Plessis, the talk was punctuated by plenty of bat-waving - mostly to mimic the backlift and the pull shot. When Hussey and Duminy spoke, no props were in evidence.
Du Plessis would seem to be more in need of Hussey's help.
He has made it clear that his role is to score centuries, but he has gone 13 innings - all but one of them completed - without reaching three figures.
Duminy is fresh off scoring 115 not out in the Proteas' World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Hamilton on Sunday, but that was only his fifth innings after returning from a knee injury that had kept him out for more than a month. Du Plessis and Duminy will be key figures in South Africa's bid to beat India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
But Hussey had to share the coaching spotlight with Gary Kirsten, who also joined the squad yesterday in his capacity as a consultant after attending the Indian Premier League player auction on Monday.
Some 9000km separate Bangalore, where the auction was held, from Melbourne, but Kirsten was fully involved in his work.
Dale Steyn was conspicuous by his absence because of flu.
The Proteas' spearhead has had a quiet World Cup so far, being hit for 40 runs in seven overs in one of SA's warm-up matches, missing the other, and taking 1/64 in nine overs against Zimbabwe.
Steyn will want to change that status on Sunday, when the Proteas will need him to keep India's powerful batting line-up in check.
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