Nasser Hussain

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Nasser Hussain England (Eng)
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling type	Right arm leg break
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	96	88
Runs scored	5764	2332
Batting average	37.18	30.28
100s/50s	14/33	1/16
Top score	207	115
Overs bowled	5	0
Wickets	0	-
Bowling average	-	-
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	-/-	-/-
Catches/stumpings	67/0	40/0
As of 24 December 2004 Source: Cricinfo.com

Nasser Hussain (born March 28, 1968, Madras (now Chennai, India) is a former Essex and England cricketer. He was born of an Indian father, Jawad (also known as "Joe"), and an English mother, Patricia, who changed her name to Shireen on conversion to Islam. He became the first captain of England to be of mixed ethnicity.

Hussain was the captain of the England team for 45 Test matches from 1999 to 2003, more than any player other than Michael Atherton. He also has the fourth most Test victories as England captain, with 17, behind only Peter May, (20) Michael Vaughan (19) and Mike Brearley (18). His percentage of Tests won was higher than any of the previous five captains, since Bob Willis.

A stylish batsman and an outstanding fielder, Hussain was also known for a tendency to injure his fingers and an unfortunate ability to lose the toss (but see note 1 below). His best Test performances came when he was when under pressure: 9 of his 14 Test centuries came in innings where England had lost early wickets. In first-class cricket, he scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06.

Hussain became Test captain when English cricket was at a low point, and his first series in charge saw England lose to New Zealand at home, after which he was booed by the England fans. However, in 2000 he led England to a 3-1 victory over the West Indies at home, and that winter the England team beat both Pakistan and Sri Lanka away, confirming Hussain's position as captain.

Hussain was captain of both the Test and One Day International England teams until after the 2003 Cricket World Cup, when England failed to make the second round after boycotting the match against Zimbabwe in Harare, citing security concerns.

Generally recognised as a raw and maveric talent in his youth with an extreme dislike of the cricketing establishment, Hussain brought a steel and professional resolve to England during his tenure as National Skipper. With Duncan Fletcher he transformed England from a team of under achievers into one of the top test playing nations often leading by example playing typically gritty and dogged innings. While not generally recognised as a natural leader he selflessly sacrificed himself, sometimes obsessively, on a personal level as captain taking the rap and flack for any defeat or poor result. It was immediately after the 2003 Cricket World Cup after considerable and unwarranted critism that he stepped down as One Day Skipper passing on the reigns to Michael Vaughan realising that he, rather harshly on himself, was a spent force in the One Day arena.

In 2003, Hussain announced his retirement as Test captain after England had narrowly clung on for a draw in the first Test against South Africa, being replaced as captain by Michael Vaughan. Hussain continued as a batsman in the Test team until May 2004, when, after scoring a century and the winning runs in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's, Hussain announced his immediate retirement from international and first-class cricket on May 27, 2004.

His father, a major influence on his private life and professional career Jawad "Joe" Hussain, and brother, Mehriyar Hussain, have both played first-class cricket, for Madras and Worcestershire respectively.

Since his retirement he has taken up a career as a television commentator for Sky Sports.

He is a mathematics graduate of the University of Durham.

[edit] Notes

1. Hussain won 19 tosses in 45 Test matches as captain (statistics courtesy of Cricinfo Statsguru). Assuming fair coins throughout Hussain's career, there is a 19% chance of this result (this fact can be verified using as an online calculator such as that from onlinestatebook.com). That is, statistically speaking around 4 out of 5 captains will in the long-term be "luckier" than Hussain, and around 1 in 5 will be "unluckier". In 56 one-day internationals as captain Hussain won the toss exactly half the time, suggesting that he was neither lucky nor unlucky.

[edit] External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile : Nasser Hussain

Preceded by Paul Prichard

Essex County Captain 1999

Succeeded by Ronnie Irani

Preceded by Alec Stewart

English national cricket captain 1999-2003

Succeeded by Michael Vaughan

	England squad - 2003 Cricket World Cup
1 Hussain | 2 Stewart | 3 Anderson | 4 Blackwell | 5 Caddick | 6 Collingwood | 7 Flintoff | 8 Giles | 9 Harmison | 10 Hoggard | 11 Irani | 12 Knight | 13 Trescothick | 14 Vaughan | 15 White | Coach: Fletcher