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Hussain retires from cricket

Friday, May 28 2004

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has announced his retirement from all forms of the game with immediate effect.

He made the announcement at a press conference at Lord's, where just three days back he scored an unbeaten century to take England home against New Zealand in the first Test.

A visibly emotional Hussain said, "It has been a major decision for me and it has been a gradual thing that has happened over months. I have been thinking about when was the time to go and on Sunday I decided the time was right to go."

He added, "Age has been catching up on me a little, the body, the fire in the stomach and the eyes have started to deteriorate a bit as well. I was willing to fight that and I was willing to fight against opposition players but I was not willing to fight against youth in the form of Andrew Strauss."

Hussain's place in the side had come under scrutiny after Andrew Strauss' pressed for selection, following a decent perfomance in One-Day Internationals. However, he answered his critics, with one of the best innings of his life on the final day of the Lord's Test.

Hussain's decision has put the selectors out of a dilemma, as Strauss scored nearly 200 runs in the same Test on debut, and Michael Vaughan being ready to resume his place.

Explaining his decision further, Hussaid said, "By Sunday I decided my time was up. Monday was an incredible day. Monday clarified my thoughts. A lot of good things happened to me and I just think it was a great day for me. It's slightly selfish. I don't like going in the middle of a series but if I'd carried on I believe things would have got messy. At the moment things are clean and clear-cut."

Hussain who had earlier said that he hoped to play 100 Tests before hanging his pads, added, "I would have loved to have played 100 caps but not for the statistic."

Hussain ends his Test career having played 96 Tests, with 5,764 runs at an average of 37.8. He made 14 centuries, with a best score of 207 against Australia in 1997. He captained England in 46 Tests, before stepping down last year to allow Michael Vaughan to take the job.

Hussain also played 88 One-Day Internationals, averaging 30.28, before he retired from the shorter version of the game after the 2003 World Cup.

Hussain also retires from First-Class cricket, thus ending a 17-year old career with Essex.

Posted by Sudeep