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Nasser's Top Ten Tests

Saturday, May 29 2004

At 10 for 2 I've done it for you, he claimed last week when justifying his continued selection at the ripe old age of 36. And he had a point. For a man with an average of 37, there have been an uncommonly high number of occasions when he's produced vital runs in significant encounters. Not for Nasser the false glory of easy runs in dead rubbers or against the minnows.

Anyway, here's ten occasions when he produced the goods when it really did matter. As you read through them, think about what England's results since 1996 would have been without these innings.

1. June 1996 vs India at Edgbaston

This is where it all began. Recalled after a three year absence, he got away with gloving a ball through to the keeper to go on and make 128 out of 313 on a spiteful track. The only other England player to pass 35 was Atherton with an unbeaten 53 in the second innings, when the game was pretty much won anyway. England won by 8 wickets and went on to win the series 1-0.

2. June 1997 vs Australia at Edgbaston

Probably his finest hour. Australia had been blown away for 118 but fought back to take three quick wickets. At 50 for 3, a first innings lead wasn't a formality, but Hussain & Thorpe added 288 to set up England's 9 wicket win. For a while, an attack featuring McGrath, Kasprowicz, Gillespie & Warne looked ordinary as our hero made his highest test score of 207. Of course, it didn't last, although Hussain did manage another hundred at Leeds later in the series. This is still England's only win against Australia since 1986 when the Ashes have still been at stake.

3. August 1998 vs South Africa at Leeds

It doesn't get much tougher than this. After conceding a small first innings deficit on a traditionally challenging Headingly strip, England were desperately hanging on against Donald and Pollock at their meanest. Hussain's 94 was by far the biggest contribution as England's last 7 wickets folded for 41. But it was enough, just, to secure the test by 23 runs and the series 2-1. This was England's first 5-test series win in 11 years.

4. March 2001 vs Sri Lanka at Kandy

This was the test that Wisden famously described as a bar-room brawl. Sri Lanka had won the previous one by an innings, but now England came out fighting. Gough & Caddick cut the home batsmen down to size, but it needed Hussain's 109 to provide a big enough lead to set up the 3 wicket win that levelled the series and paved the way for the eventual 2-1 success.

5. March 2002 vs New Zealand in Christchurch

England had found themselves 0 for 2 after five deliveries on a horrible drop-in pitch. Some pundits wondered whether they would pass 50 but, almost entirely due to Hussain's expertise, they made it to 228. Later, of course, the pitch flattened sufficiently for Thorpe Flintoff & Astle to steal the headlines, but no-one who was there on Day 1 was in any doubt who had produced the innings of the game. Without their captain's 106, England would probably have lost by a street. Instead they won by 98 runs and the series was eventually shared 1-1.

6. July 2002 vs India at Lord's

The final margin of 170 runs suggests this was an easy win, but, at 78 for 3, England were looking a bit dodgy. However, Hussain, again coming to the crease without a run on the board, made 155 and, supported by Crawley, provided the foundation for the lower order to bash away merrily. England's win gave them the lead in the series, although India came back well to draw 1-1.

7. August 2003 vs South Africa at Trent Bridge

No longer in charge, but this was a captain's innings in all but name. England had been slaughtered at Lord's and now found themselves 29 for 2 on a lively track. Hussain & Butcher added 189 to set up a way-over-par first innings score which proved decisive as the pitch deteriorated. England won by 70 runs and, despite their horror show in the next test, eventually drew the series 2-2. Without Hussain's 116 here, the series would almost certainly have been lost.

8. March 2004 vs West Indies in Jamaica

West Indies' first innings total of 311 was looking a very long way off when Trecothock & Vaughan departed with only 33 on the board. Edwards & Best were a fearsome prospect on a lively pitch and Hussain, in partnership with Butcher, seemed to survive as much through guts as much as through technique. But survive he did, and they added 119 to provide a basis for a small first innings advantage. Harmison's pyrotechnics set up a 10 wicket win, but would the W'Indies have folded so meekly with the large lead that seemed likely before Hussain & Butcher's rescue act? 58 runs is a long way from being his biggest test innings, but few have been more vital given the state of the match and the state of the series.

9. March 2004 vs West Indies in Trinidad

Jamaica revisited. This time WI had only made 208, but England's reply was staggering horribly at 8 for 2. Once again, Hussain & Butcher weathered the storm and added 120 before Butcher fell. The total had reached 186 before Hussain departed for another 58, by which time Thorpe was able to marshal the tail and set up a 7 wicket win.

10. May 2004 vs New Zealand at Lord's

Where were you when he smashed those three successive boundaries to seal the win? It had seemed thoroughly unlikely when England subsided to 35 for 2 chasing a fifth day target of 282, but in the event it was a breeze. Even running out the local hero had been forgiven as Lord's rose to salute something very special indeed. If you've got to go, you might as well go in style and 103* in your final test innings takes some beating. Good luck Nasser you'll be missed.

Posted by David