Simon Katich is the hard man of the Australian team and he has never pretended to be anything different.

“I actually had this full beard when I was about 12 years of age,” the opening batsman joked on Thursday.

“So I was probably a little bit more advanced than Mike [Hussey] was. His voice was a tad higher when we were about 12.”

Katich and Hussey, both 34, are preparing to play their 50th Test matches alongside each other when Australia take on New Zealand in the second Test in Hamilton on Saturday.

Hussey’s Wanneroo clashed with Katich’s Midland Guildford when they were nine-year-olds playing junior cricket in Perth.

“The one thing I remember was playing a grand final, under-13s against each other and Simon Katich’s mum made a cake for both teams to celebrate after the game,” Hussey said.

“That was quite good, both teams got together after the game and we all shared this big chocolate cake.

“They won. Now to be playing for Australia but to be playing 50 Tests together. Plus Katto being the best man at my wedding, it is pretty special.”

Hussey famously spent 11 years slogging it out in first-class cricket for Western Australia before making his Test debut in 2005.

“My first Test was a bit of a write-off, really,” Hussey said.

“I was a bit emotional. I think I had a few tears coming down my eyes before I faced my first ball, actually.

“I didn’t handle the emotions very well at all.

“I found my first Test match extremely emotional and it was just such a long journey to get there that I got a bit overwhelmed by the situation.”

Hussey’s career began with scores of 1 and 29 in Brisbane against West Indies, but by the start of 2008 his Test average was a Bradmanesque 80.58.

Fast-forward to 2009 in England and Hussey was being talked about as a potential victim of an unsuccessful Ashes campaign.

His century in the fifth Ashes Test, plus three more in the home summer against West Indies and Pakistan, have given the left-hander added confidence that he can still play a key role for the Australian side.

“I don’t like to look too far ahead because the game can jump up and bite you so quickly,” Hussey said.

“I just really want to do well in this 50th Test which I’m still pinching myself that I’ve got the opportunity to play.”

Katich the realist

New South Wales skipper Katich knew he needed a big Shield summer in 2007-08 to get back into the Test side and he nailed it, scoring a national record 1,506 runs at 94.13. He is a realist.

Asked about the 2013 Ashes tour, he said: “I wouldn’t look that far in front.

“In the last couple of years I’ve taken it year by year. If you get too far in front of yourself in this game it can come back to haunt you,” Katich said.

“That’s one thing, time out of the team certainly put things in perspective.

“It made me realise every chance I get, I just look at the next Test. I know it’s a cliche but it’s all you can do, once you do get older.

“You can’t hide the greys. It catches up with everyone.”

Asked if his mum had baked a chocolate cake for the Hamilton Test, Katich said he is the one who does the cooking now.

Katich recently appeared on the Ten Network’s MasterChef Australia program and his signature dish is crispy salmon with wilted spinach and mashed potato.

He does not have a sense of smell, which can be a problem when something’s burning on the stove, but can be an advantage in a cricket dressing room fully of sweaty playing gear.

“I don’t profess to be a guru in the kitchen but if I get criticised for my food I’ll take it on the chin – you have to have a thick skin whatever you do,” he said.

-AAP