Time for the real Nasser to stand up and be counted (27 June 1999)

27 June 1999

Time for the real Nasser to stand up and be counted

Michael Atherton

It was at the England school's Under-15 festival 16 long years ago, that I first met a young boy from Forest School. We were both aspiring batsman-legspinners and he, being from the south, the more highly regarded.

A chap who claimed to know a thing or two, advised me to watch "the Madras magician" bowl his wondrous varieties from behind the bowler's arm. I did and it was immediately apparent that he was suffering from an early form of the yips, and my leg-spinners duly outlasted his to the tune of a hundred odd first-class wickets.

That boy was, of course, Nasser Hussain. Later that same year he became my first international captain when we played for England Schools Under-15s together. We drew with Wales and crushed Scotland's finest by one wicket.

Since then our careers have followed similar paths: university, county cricket, the England team by the age of 21. Now he has joined that select band who know the pride he will feel when he leads his country out for the first time against New Zealand on Thursday.

During those early years, like a diamond in the rough, the occasional brilliance shone through. In particular, I remember his innings of 170 for Young England in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and a hundred for the Combined Universities against Somerset, which nearly took us through to the Benson and Hedges semi-finals.

Then there was passion, tantrums and a tendency to stay leg-side of the ball and thrash it through third-man. Now there is passion, occasional flashes of temper, and a tendency to get off-side of the ball and get it through third-man. In truth he has become a very fine player, and time has polished the rough edges to finally reveal the gem.

It is a good time to take on the England captaincy. As when I took on the job in 1994, public expectation is low. Unlike then, however, we do have a strong nucleus of players to go forward with. It is pace which wins the majority of matches and England's pace bowling with Gough, Mullally, Tudor and Headley is stronger than for some time.

A captain could not ask for more than to start off with a home series against New Zealand and by the time the Ashes come around, often the litmus test of a captaincy, Australia's great players will be at the end of the road.

Successful captaincy is based on respect, as a player, leader, tactician and human being. As Nasser has been consistently successful as a player for a couple of years now and is in the form of his life at present there should be no concerns on one front. He will bring a keen tactical sense to the job: in particular I think he understands spin more than his predecessor, it's just a pity there is not much spin to work with.

It is in the dressing-room that he may have to work the hardest. He is regarded by some as self-centred, good for a batsman but not for a captain, and has the endearing ability to rub people up the wrong way with no apparent effort. So much so that last winter two of England's bowlers were heard to mutter that if he ever became captain he would have to find two more. Of course, cricketers quickly get over such objections given the choice between a loss of face and a loss of earnings.

But the media, I hear you cry, what about the media and for that matter the public? Nasser will no doubt make an effort and be quite good at that side of the job. But after the initial honeymoon period he will quickly realise that no matter how well he captains the team, he will be judged on results. For that reason I came to the conclusion that the media were an irrelevance (to the player that is, not to the game as a whole) and as 50 per cent of the public either like or dislike you for fairly illogical reasons, that's not really worth worrying about either. A captain without his team is nothing and it is what he says to the dressing-room, not to the press conference, that is vital.

Selection I always found a problem, veering as I did from having the final say in 1994, to not much say in 1995. Nasser would be wise to set the ground rules early, for there is nothing worse than appearing to have a large say whilst at the same time having compromise foisted upon you. All or nothing is the way to go.

I hope he gets to captain his team, for having faith in your players is an absolute essential. If he does I think he can become a fine captain, carry his players with him, mould the team to his image and produce one that plays with his intensity and desire.

The England captaincy is something Nasser has clearly coveted for some time. When it was last available he was overlooked, many felt because he was mistrusted by those in authority. In the meantime he has probably smiled and nodded at the right people, made a good impression and said the 'right things'. He knows deep down that chameleons don't make good captains, so that when he leads his team out for the first time I hope the real Nasser Hussain stands up. That's what England needs right now.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)