Hussain and Fletcher talk a good fight (26 June 1999)

26 June 1999

Hussain and Fletcher talk a good fight

Michael Henderson

Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher put a brave face on their first public appearance yesterday in their new roles as captain and coach of the England team. Speaking at Lord's, both men presented themselves as realists who would work hard to transform the team.

"I'll be giving it everything," Hussain said. "People who know me know what a determined character I am. We have to start winning. Everybody must know that's the most important thing.

"I'm not naive. I know it's going to be a difficult job but we must start putting things right now. We have to win back the confidence of the public," he said.

Fletcher, the Zimbabwean who will leave Glamorgan at the end of the season to take up a two-year post, said: "I'll give 110 per cent, and I have a lot of pride in what I do." No surprises there, then. That is the language of incoming captains and coaches the world over.

In one important respect Fletcher's job differs from the one that David Lloyd relinquished last month. He will have a formal vote in selection meetings that was denied to his predecessor, who attended in an advisory capacity.

Although he does not officially take up his post until Oct 1, Fletcher will be in regular touch throughout the summer with Hussain and with David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, who will act as team manager during the series against New Zealand. He confirmed that he had been approached by South Africa last year, with a view to succeeding Bob Woolmer, and had given them little encouragement.

Hussain has said in the past that English cricket is too soft, and he amplified those remarks yesterday. "The mental toughness, that Australia showed in the last five games of the World Cup, is an area where we can improve. That counts for 20 per cent, but there must be talent there as well. It's a combination of those two things. We need 11 people who are tough enough and strong enough to win at the highest level. We'll be picking the best 11 men to turn things round and if that means picking somebody who has a troublesome nature then we'll have to get the best out of them."

Hussain said that England had experienced a few watersheds in recent years. "You can keep chopping and changing, but we must have the best team. There must be a balance between change when it's appropriate and retaining class players who may be out of form. We must be realistic, and that's what I am."

He maintained that he had changed from the occasionally angry young man into a more reasonable 31-year-old. "I like to think I have changed. I sat down with Graham Gooch a few years ago and tried to channel my aggression into my cricket. I'm very disappointed when I let myself and the team down, and I want every other member of the team to have that kind of attitude."

Above all, he emphasised that the players shared responsibility for the team's performance, and they could not hide behind excuses, or other people. "I'm going in with my eyes open. We're judged by results and, I know it's a clichŽ, but I shall take it game by game. It's a gradual process and if we show some improvement, then that's fine by me."

Hussain, who won the first of his 39 caps nine years ago, has progressed through all the main channels, from representative schools cricket to the Test team. Fletcher, who played for Zimbabwe and made his name as a coach with Western Province in South Africa, is an outsider. Clearly, the committee that appointed him took the view that a fresh pair of eyes was essential.

Tim Lamb, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said: "The panel was impressed by his vision of the game, and by his record as a man-manager."

Those are impressive sentiments but the case was spelt out by Graveney, who said: "We have to win back those people disenchanted by our performance in the World Cup."

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph