Cricket: In the aftermath of one of his great cricketing triumphs, Nasser Hussain last night dropped the broadest of hints that he might bring down the curtain on his 96-Test career.
The former captain made a brilliant unbeaten 103 at Lord's yesterday to steer England to victory in the first Test against New Zealand, and then suggested he might prefer to end his career on a very special day rather than fade away.
Barring injury, the second Test against West Indies in Birmingham in July would have given him his 100th cap. Yesterday's Test hundred was his 14th and his third at Lord's.
As Hussain drilled the winning runs through extra cover and stormed from the field in triumph, he turned before disappearing into the back-slapping pavilion and saluted all corners of the ground. It was not the act of someone merely overdosing on emotion. "I shall go away now," he said afterwards, "and think about things for the next couple of days. There are issues for me personally. I have got to make some decisions in my life.
"I only want to play in a side that wants me and for a country that wants me to play so I have got to make some decisions. I am just going to have to talk to some people in my life and come to a non-emotive decision about when would be a good time to call it a day."
It would be typical of Hussain's devotion to the England cause that he would recognise the advent of Andrew Strauss as a player of international class and therefore the catalyst for his own retirement.
Strauss's first-innings century and 83 yesterday (a second hundred seemed an inevitability until Hussain ran him out) slots him seamlessly into place.
"The last thing I want to do is hold anyone up in their career," Hussain said. "The most important thing to me is to end on a high like I did with my captaincy."
Hussain had resigned his commission suddenly after the Edgbaston Test against South Africa last year.
There has been speculation about Hussain's career since the latter part of England's tour of the Caribbean and he confessed this issue has been on his mind since the third Test in Barbados. Although he had contributed fighting half-centuries to the victories in the first two Tests, he was playing on guts alone.
The tank seemed close to empty. The last thing he deserved, though, was for personal ambition, in terms of 100 caps, to open the possibility that his career would be ended by a selectorial decision rather than personal choice. He should be spared that humiliation. Now the choice is made easier for him.
England's win was up there with their best. Only four times have England successfully chased more to win. This was their best effort on this ground. Needing 282 to win and eight for no wicket overnight, they lost two early wickets while the ball was still hard but came back strongly, first with a partnership of 108 for the third wicket between Strauss and Hussain, and then, when Strauss departed, another unbroken effort of 139 for the fourth wicket between Hussain and Graham Thorpe, who finished unbeaten on 51.
Two old stagers, who have fought long and hard together, brothers in arms at the end. If Hussain goes, there can be no better way.
Overnight: New Zealand 386 (M Richardson 93, C Cairns 82, J Oram 67, N Astle 64; S Harmison 4-126) and 336 (M Richardson 101, B McCullum 96; S Harmison 4-76). England 441 (A Strauss 112, M Trescothick 86, A Flintoff 63) and 8-0.
England Second Innings
M Trescothick c & b Tuffey 2
A Strauss run out 83
M Butcher c Fleming b Martin 6
N Hussain not out 103
G Thorpe not out 51
Extras b7 lb12 w5 nb13 pens 0 37
Total 3 wkts (87 overs) 282
Fall of wickets: 1-18 2-35 3-143
Did Not Bat: A Flintoff, G Jones, A Giles, S Jones, M Hoggard, S Harmison.
Bowling: Oram 15 4 39 0 Tuffey 10 3 32 1 Vettori 25 5 53 0 Martin 18 2 75 1 Styris 13 5 37 0 Cairns 6 0 27 0 241731
England win by seven wickets
