Hussain: 'ICC let us and cricket down'

Nasser Hussain: 'I think they let us down, and they let cricket down' © Getty Images

In a pre-recorded interview to be shown during the BBC's annual Sports Personality of the Year awards programme on December 14, Nasser Hussain will launch a scathing broadside aimed at cricket's administrators over the boycott of Zimbabwe during the 2003 World Cup.

Hussain lays the blame at the feet of the ICC for not taking a firmer stand early on. "Looking back on the World Cup, I have no fond memories at all," Hussain said. "It was a poorly run tournament and the ICC must have known early on that Zimbabwe was going to be an issue for us. I think they let us down, and they let cricket down. It took something away from the tournament for me when it should have been an event I enjoyed."

He went on to say that he had been keen to resign as captain as soon as a replacement was found, and that Michael Vaughan's performances in 2002 convinced him that he was the man to step into his boots. "Mentally, I was at the end of my tether when I stood down," Hussain admitted. "You can't captain a side when you are so drained."

But he added that he was confident about the future for the England side. "My era of players has now come to an end and a new era is coming through. There are some exciting new players and things are looking OK right now."