By Ben Kunicki BBC Sport Online

Nasser Hussain's defiant gesture after completing his century in the NatWest final may have only added fuel to the fire raging over his place in the England batting order.

The England skipper has consistently deflected all discussion of his preference to come in at number three.

Have Your Say on Hussain's gesture

But after reaching three figures for the first time in one-day internationals he could not resist some payback at the expense of his critics.

Hussain has generally received a good press from a notoriously fickle media and he suggested afterwards that his protest was directed solely at a group of ex-professionals.

Hussain: Defeat is hard to swallow

Although Hussain mentioned no names, those ex-players include Bob Willis and Ian Botham, who in their position as Sky Sports commentators have consistently called for Hussain to drop down the order.

There is no doubt, as the Sunday Times helpfully pointed out, that Hussain's strike rate of 66 per 100 balls is not high enough, in fact it is amongst the lowest in international cricket.

Yet Hussain proved with his century on Saturday, as scratchy as it sometimes was, that having him at number three can be beneficial, particularly with free-scoring openers such as Knight and Trescothick.

Come Sunday and the papers were more divided over the proper reaction to Hussain's performance.

Hussain's shot selection has come in for criticism

The Sunday Telegraph was supportive although it should be pointed out that the England captain provides them with a column.

However, the Independent on Sunday was particularly scathing, with correspondent Stephen Brenkley using the old saying about monkeys, typewriters and complete works of Shakespeare.

The suggestion being that Hussain had to make a hundred at some point.

The general feeling was that Hussain wasted his time on what should have been a moment of celebration by indulging in his display.

It was also suggested that Hussain had returned to his bad old days as the enfant terrible of English cricket, when his fiery temper would often get the better of him.

During his tenure as captain, Hussain has gained universal respect from the press pack for the professionalism and composure he has shown.

Skilled handling

However, it has taken one incident for the media to start dragging out all those old criticisms of him.

In general Hussain has been skilled in his PR handling but he can be tetchy when criticised.

His bizarre defence of his players after they had been routed by New Zealand in his first series as captain in 1999 is a prime example.

On that occasion with boos from the crowd ringing in his ears, Hussain claimed he was proud with the way his team performed.

Since then he has been more willing to admonish his players in public when needed but he remains prickly with criticism from outside.

In this instance he may indeed have a point.

Hussain's strike rate has been improving

Although England's one day batting order has come in for consistent scrutiny, it has been clear for some time that change is unlikely.

Yet every time England walk on to the field during a one-day international, the same people say the same thing, that Hussain should drop down the order.

The constant drip-drip appears to have finally got to the England captain and his century gave him an opportunity he felt he could not refuse.

In fact, over the past year, Hussain's strike rate, the aspect of his batting which gives the press most ammunition has been improving.

Against Zimbabwe in October 2001, his strike rate was up to 80, a level he repeated in January against India.

Topping Ganguly

Although there was a slight dip against New Zealand in March, Hussain managed a strike rate of 75, which bettered his Indian counterpart Sourav Ganguly, a man known for his explosive striking.

Ultimately, Hussain's protest is probably a futile one and it will take another improved performance in the run-up to the World Cup to truly silence those critics.

Whether in years to come he will regret his actions when he could have acknowledged the acclaim his innings deserved is something that cannot be known.

However, it is unlikely that England's most successful captain for over a decade will rein in his temperament too much.