27/05/2004

England hero Hussain retires from cricket

Essex and England batsman Nasser Hussain has announced his retirement from Test and county cricket with immediate effect.

Hussain, 36, steps down after a 14-year international career which saw him win 96 Test caps, score 14 Test hundreds and captain his country in Tests 45 times.

He currently stands 12th in the list of England’s Test run scorers with 5,764 runs at an average of 37.18 – and is England’s eighth most-capped player of all time.

Hussain struck a match-winning century as England beat New Zealand by seven wickets at Lord’s on Monday and has decided that would be the perfect note to end his career on.

He said: “It has been a major decision and not one I have taken lightly. It has been a gradual thing over months. I have been thinking about it for a while."

Hussain said that on Sunday he had decided it was time to go as age was "catching up with me and my body", and young talent like Andrew Strauss were beginning to come through.

He added: "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.”

Commenting on the decision, chairman of selectors David Graveney said: “Nasser has made an outstanding contribution to the England team both as a captain and as a player.

“This has been a difficult decision for him to take and I am pleased that like Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart before him, he has decided to leave international cricket at a time of his own choosing.“

England coach Duncan Fletcher said: “Having worked very closely with Nasser over the past five years, I know how deeply he cares about English cricket and in taking this decision I hope people realise that he has tried to do what is best for the England team rather than the individual.

“His desire and will-to-win are an object lesson to any cricketer out there who aspires to play for England and I know that we will all miss him in the changing rooms.”

England captain Michael Vaughan said that Nasser's focus, preparation and passion were qualities that he admired most about him.

"I know I speak for every England players in wishing him all the best for the future,” Vaughan added.

(gmcg)

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