Hussain wants Eng to toe the Aussies on captaincy front
Sunday, March 9 2003 16:49 Hrs (IST)

London: Nasser Hussain on Sunday said he wanted to stay on as England's Test captain after quitting at the helm of the One-day side that was knocked out in the first round of the World Cup.

The 34-year-old also advocated the Australian policy of having separate Test and One- day captains to lessen the increased pressure which goes with the job.

"On tour you have so many questions about so many thinks apart from yourself and England's cricket," Hussain wrote in his column in the ‘Sunday Telegraph’.

"You have to talk about injuries, opposing players, about the International Cricket Council, the ECB, about political issues like Zimbabwe. Splitting the captaincy would help me if I was asked to stay on as Test captain and it would also help the new One-day skipper settle into the job.

"If the whole captaincy is landed on one new individual, something in him will have to give." Hussain, who became England captain in 1999, stepped down from the One-day job a few hours after the team failed to make the second round of the World Cup in South Africa.

Australia has had two separate captains in recent years. When Mark Taylor was the Test captain, Steve Waugh led the One-day side. Now Waugh captains in Tests while Ricky Pointing is in charge of the One-day unit.

"The England captaincy in any form of cricket is something I have been very proud of and not something I will give away lightly," Hussain wrote. "The three main reasons I came to the difficult decision were, firstly, that I believe a younger core of players should be selected to take the One-day side on to the next World Cup.

"Secondly, I did not warrant a place in the team any more, and thirdly I want to preserve my enthusiasm for carrying on in Test cricket, if possible as captain.

"All the time we were in Australia we were looking forward to the World Cup, and now none of us will look back on it fondly. I would like to go back to doing what I wanted to do as a boy: to play Test cricket for England, not be a national spokesman for everything cricketing."

England is scheduled to play two Tests against Zimbabwe and five against South Africa later this summer. The season also includes a Limited Overs series against both the African sides and three matches against Pakistan.

Copyright AFP 2001

Extras:
India keen to make amends in its clash against Lanka