BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | Hussain still faces hecklers



By Matthew Allen BBC Sport Online

England captain Nasser Hussain's first taste of the job was to face a heckling crowd after defeat against New Zealand saw his side relegated to the foot of the world rankings.

Three years after his first series in charge he was being roundly applauded following a successful summer that saw England beat Sri Lanka and draw with India.

England are now firmly entrenched in mid-table, having also disposed of the West Indies and Pakistan.

Hussain has guided England to five series wins, two draws and four defeats since 1999.

And he has been compared to Mike Brearley, one of England's greatest tactical skippers.

Craig White & Andy Caddick
White and Caddick have prospered
But, despite being credited along with coach Duncan Fletcher for restoring pride to English cricket, the hecklers have not quite disappeared.

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith has suggested that England should dump their captain before travelling to Australia for the Ashes tour this winter.

His argument that Hussain has become too negative was echoed by former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar when England toured India last winter.

And past England players Ian Botham and Paul Allott have repeatedly voiced their concern at Hussain's insistance that he should bat at number three in one-day internationals.

The Australians believe England have become afraid of taking risks on the cricket field - in short, they are scared of winning.

If I as the captain am going to get the praise then I have to take the stick as well

Nasser Hussain

Directing Ashley Giles to bowl outside of Sachin Tendulkar's leg stump last winter and setting defensive fields when victory was still possible at The Oval adds fuel to this view.

But Hussain's riposte is that he was only utilising his limited resources in the best possible way.

It is hard to bowl attacking lines against Tendulkar without Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick, Robert Croft and only a half fit Craig White.

"I've used the same tactics before when we've won but when they don't work you get accused of negativity," he said after the drawn series against India.

"That's fine. If I as the captain am going to get the praise then I have to take the stick as well."

Feature: Nasser leads by example

Hussain has always played it his own way and wears his heart on his sleeve.

That used to get him into trouble in his younger days and landed him in hot water when he disputed an umpire's decision on the 1989 tour of the West Indies.

Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar has criticised Hussain
But the 34-year-old has matured and earned praise for his diplomacy as the first captain to lead England in Pakistan since the Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana debacle of 1987.

And this in the face of some poor umpiring decisions that plagued him throughout the tour.

His own experiences at being branded "difficult" have allowed him to get the best out of enigmatic players such as Caddick and White, who were on the verge of being discarded when he took over.

England have undoubtably developed into a much stronger unit since Hussain became captain, displaying greater unity and durability under pressure.

He has hinted over the last few months that he may step down after next year's World Cup.

Some will argue that this is not a moment too soon as he has become inflexible, bereft of ideas and has already done as much as he can as England captain.

Others, including his team-mates and Fletcher, view the retirement of an inspirational and loyal leader with trepidation and concern.