Nasser Hussain quit as skipper of the England one-day international squad on Tuesday, following his team’s early exit from the World Cup.
Hussain stressed he wanted to stay on as England’s test cricket captain. ”I believe it is in the best interests of the one-day side if I step down as captain,” Hussain said. ”I would like to stress that I am keen to carry on as test captain but that will be for other people to decide.
”I want to play 100 test matches and captain England in the test arena for several years yet,” added Hussain, who has scored 4 866 runs in 81 tests. ”I firmly believe we are a better side with me in charge but I believe it’s time for someone else to come in.”
Hussain, who said he was retiring from one-day international cricket altogether, said he felt he no longer merited a place in the one-day batting lineup. ”I am 35 this month and there must be people out there who can average more than 30 and get a better strike rate than 67.”
Possible successors to Hussain were already being discussed on Tuesday with Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick the favourites with British bookmakers.
Ladbrokes made Vaughan 1-2 and Trescothick 4-1 to take over the one-day captaincy with Alec Stewart, Adam Hollioake and Paul Collingwood at 10-1, Mark Butcher 16-1 and Graham Thorpe 33-1.
Hussain said he had only made the decision on Tuesday afternoon, although his future in the role had been in some doubt since last year.
”I am mentally and physically drained after this winter. I intend to take two months completely off,” he said.
”It’s been difficult but everyone in life has difficult jobs. It’s not just for me but for the England team. That’s part of the learning curve.”
England was eliminated from the World Cup after the washed-out game in Bulawayo between Zimbabwe and Pakistan denied it the chance of a backdoor entry into the Super Six.
Hussain’s men were dependent on Pakistan beating Zimbabwe and hoping their net run-rate was superior to both to stay alive in the tournament. But it was Zimbabwe — who gained four points from England’s February 13 Harare boycott — who progressed after the game with Pakistan was abandoned.
The no result helped Zimbabwe place third in Group A, two points ahead of England.
After deciding not to travel to Zimbabwe following strenuous efforts by the England and Wales Cricket Board to have the game switched to South Africa, Hussain’s side started the World Cup impressively.
Wins over the Netherlands and Namibia, followed by a rousing victory over Pakistan, put them in the frame for the next phase. But England was left to rue its loss to India and its narrow defeat against Australia last Sunday after controlling most of the
match. Hussain admitted he could not watch the Zimbabwe vs. Pakistan game and was waiting for a phone update from bowler Steve Harmison when he realised the game had been abandoned.
”I was playing very badly on a golf course because I could not watch that game any more,” Hussain said. ”When he didn’t ring me for a couple of hours we knew our World Cup had come to an end.”
Hussain backed the decision of the ECB not to play its match in Zimbabwe. ”You just don’t know what would have happened if we had gone there,” Hussain said.
”They’ve (Zimbabwe) done nothing wrong and they have deserved to go through.” – Sapa-AP