I may quit if another bone breaks: Hussain

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, JULY 15. Nasser Hussain, the England captain, suggests that if he receives another broken bone in his finger he may have to quit cricket altogether. ``I will have problems if another bone goes,'' he said today. ``It will be off to the commentary box for me if this streak of bad fortune continues.''

Hussain has broken bones in his hand five times in the last five years and is set to miss the second and third Tests against Australia after being hit by Jason Gillespie during England's first Test defeat at Edgbaston only a few days after recovering from the thumb injury which kept him out of the one- day tri- series.

I have to say that he remains astonishingly cheerful. He was in the Press box during Surrey's victory against Gloucestershire in the Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord's yesterday using a state-of-the-art computer to send copy to a Sunday newspaper and dealt happily with a stream of requests for his autograph even though it meant using his damaged left hand.

``I'll be all right, I'll be fine,'' he told one inquirer after another but there is clearly a serious concern behind the smile. He is only 32, the rest of his body is as fit as any Olympic athlete's and he still has enthusiasm besides being the best captain England has had for 20 years. But he either has to find a new way of protecting the bony fingers that carefully picked away at his lap top yesterday - his nickname is Poppadom Hands - or find a technique that does not mean he is hit so often.

His remark about heading for the commentary box is not a joke either. Television producers courted him throughout yesterday when he made several appearances on the two stations covering the final. If he has to retire it will not be to starve in a gutter but to enter the British media world of newspaper columns and TV commentary that has been so profitable for Richie Benaud, David Gower, Bob Willis and Ian Botham in the last few years.

His place in the second Test, also at Lord's and starting on Thursday, will go to Mark Ramprakash, obviously recovered from his hamstring injury and a stylish batsman in good form if only on the evidence of his explosive 39 off the notoriously thrifty Gloucestershire attack. Graham Thorpe returns to the England side as well although he wisely stayed out of the action yesterday.

England will put his injured calf through a series of tests this week but Thorpe says ``I feel I will be fit by Thursday.'' Chris Silverwood, the Yorkshire quick bowler, takes the place of his county team mate Matthew Hoggard who is injured. Silverwood has been the best Yorkshire bowler as it had raced to the top of the championship and if there is help in the Lord's pitch on Thursday he will be the man to exploit it. Surrey was still too powerful for Gloucestershire which has won four successive one-day tournaments only to lose in the fourth round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester knock-out to its neighbours Somerset last week and to surrender the title yesterday.

Ben Hollioake, the younger brother of the Surrey captain Adam, made all the difference on the ground where he first came to notice with a disdainful fifty made off Shane Warne in a 1997 one-day International. Adam Hollioake said of Ben's 73 in 76 balls with two sixes: ``He has all that power and style and it cannot be long before he is back in the Test squad.'' Other, less biased experts, point up Ben's poor footwork which lets him down at the highest level when power and a good eye are simply not enough.

The team:

Michael Atherton (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Mark Ramprakash, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Ian Ward, Usman Afzaal, Craig White, Ashley Giles, Dominic Cork, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Chris Silverwood.

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