Hussain the passion player

THERE is no question of the pride and deep sense of honour felt by Nasser Hussain at being captain of the England A side. Indeed, the only thing which could possibly make him feel more proud and honoured is getting rid of the job.

This is neither ingratitude rearing its head nor the burdens of responsibility taking their toll after a winter tour. This is a burning desire to play for England - the one without letters after its name. Hussain speaks of this and indeed the game in general with an insistent, missionary zeal and anybody at present assuming that English cricketers are merely filling time aimlessly until their benefit seasons should hear him.

"I love playing for Essex and it was memorable to lead England A in Pakistan during the winter tour," he said. "I am delighted to be doing that again [he will captain them against The Rest next Saturday], but playing for England - that's all I want to do. This year I've got a good chance and I've got to make sure I take it.

"I want to be in there against the best, the likes of Shane Warne, Wasim Akram and Curtly Ambrose, testing myself against them, handling the pressure that comes with all Test matches. That is the whole point of playing this game."

He sounded as though he positively relished the idea of any or all of the great bowling trinity coming in to bowl to him. Actually, as long he is in an England cap he does not much seem to care. By his own repeated admission, Nasser Hussain is desperate to regain his Test place.

It is seven years since he played the first of his seven Tests, three since the last. The two series in which he has featured have been against West Indies, when they still bestrode the world, and Australia, when they were about to. Cricketing assignments do not come tougher, and he was not quite up to it.

Hussain was 28 last month and if time is hardly running out he is doubtless aware that should he score insufficient runs next time there would not be another series. Three-time losers tend to get incarcerated for life in the confines of the County Championship.

He also knows the quality of the middle-order opposition and he recounted the list in front of the Chelmsford pavilion last week almost as if it were a mantra which concentrated his mind on the task in hand. "Ramprakash and Smith, what good players, and Hick, of course, and then Crawley, he's up there and Thorpey, what a big-game player that bloke is."

The vice-captaincy of Essex, which he assumed last season, and the somewhat unexpected leadership of England A on their winter tour - though he might have felt miffed at not being picked for the senior squad in South Africa given his blazing 1995 form - appear to have had a soothing effect on his personality. He would be reluctant to admit as much.

"I don't think I've changed," he said. "It's in my character to have an opinion. I suppose it's just that when you're v-c or skipper you get to voice it. When I was younger I was too impatient at times. I'll still throw my bat into the coffin if I'm out after a bad shot but it's over after five minutes."

Nobody is tougher on Nasser than Nasser. Taking his lead from Graham Gooch, whom he clearly reveres, and with advice from craftsmen like Geoff Boycott, he works hard on technique and its application. After a moderate 1994 season he made some fairly significant amendments designed to keep him more static in the crease and curtail a tendency to open the face of the bat.

It worked because last summer Hussain was resplendent. Only Mark Ramprakash, among English batsmen, can have matched him in quantity and style. The form continued in Pakistan where Hussain demonstrated that he knew his As from his elbow. His side lost only one game all tour, the last, and the captain led from the front.

"It's easy to captain a winning team and they played so well," he said. "It was a joy. England's was OK too, you know, till the last, but the lads will know they didn't fire in the World Cup. We've got to play better than we are but the captain, Michael Atherton, is one of the best things to have happened to the game in this country. People say he doesn't jump up and down enough and wave his arms about but he's a thoughtful, steadying influence and in Test matches, believe me, people need calming down not picking up. Athers is wonderful and I'm not just saying that because I want to be picked."

Certainly not. But even taking account of Hussain's runs, it is probably smarter than calling the captain an unsmiling Lancastrian buffoon.