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The penny has finally dropped. Yesterday, after Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting were sacked as England's Test selectors, Nasser Hussain declared his hand. The captain of England's bumbling team, who survived going 2-1 down against New Zealand at Old Trafford by a narrow margin, have acknowledged publicly that younger men and fresher ideas are needed on the long journey towards fulfilment.

It is a shame, in a way, that it had to end like this for Gooch and Gatting, who will stay on as advisors and who gave so much to England as players. But they walked into a trap of their own making. There was never any room for both of them and now, after the muddle-headed selection for the last Test which raised doubts about their competence, there is no use for either. Now Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, the incoming coach, must embrace the future. There is no profit in back-sliding.

``I have gut feelings about certain players,'' said Hussain, ``and there is now a blank piece of paper. If you start with a blank piece of paper, it's amazing what you can end up with.'' We will have a better idea when he and Fletcher select the party who go to South Africa this winter.

Hussain thought that the next selection meeting, for the Oval Test that starts tomorrow week, will be ``the longest in recent years'', longer even than the one before Old Trafford, which was brought forward to Saturday morning so that every argument could be heard properly. If the meeting is as long as he anticipates, it will be because - although captain and coach recognise the need for change their eagerness may be tempered by the knowledge that the series is still there to be won.

Hussain, whose involvement so far has been restricted to five active days after he broke the middle finger of his right hand at Lord's, must first report fit. He hopes to play for Essex against the tourists in a game starting on Friday and, if there is no adverse reaction, he will return to the side at the Oval.

``I am not worried about leaving out friends of mine, or people I have played with for a long time,'' he said. ``But I am not going to do things just because it is what the public want, or what the media want. I will do the things I think are right for the side.

``I am not of the school that believes there is no talent and that we can't make any changes.'' Then, significantly, he added: ``There is no point going to the Oval with the people Duncan doesn't want for the tour of South Africa.'' No wonder he expects the meeting to be long and contentious.

Despite his refusal to submit to public pressure for its own sake (quite right), Hussain knows what people are saying. ``I'm very aware. It's something I have thought through in the last couple of weeks, and will think through again.'' The problem, he said, was finding players good enough to join the team on merit, and retaining those who justified their selection through ability and 'example'.

That is the key word. For all the talent in the batting, it is undeniable that the top six have not batted well together. Nor is the atmosphere in the dressing-room welcoming for younger players. More than one has spoken privately with surprise and disappointment of the way they were not made to feel part of the team.

In a team game like cricket, spirit counts for as much as runs and wickets. New Zealand, for instance, have found a unity and pleasure in each other's company that shows up 'Team England' for the nonsense that it is. There is little obvious spirit in the England side. That was apparent last Saturday from the inert performance in the field as New Zealand batted on, and left former England Test cricketers watching in utter dismay.

That is the overwhelming problem that Hussain and Fletcher must resolve now that they are fully in charge. It will not be easy, and the changes will not be immediate. But it must be undertaken swiftly, and in all seriousness. An atmosphere of selfishness and insecurity is a dangerous compound in any dressing-room.

``I don't believe in saying 'this lot are not good enough, let's go and get another XI','' said Hussain, ``because that doesn't work. But my gut feeling is that we are moving towards a time when we have to start looking to the future.'' And the future starts, for this purpose, with the tour of South Africa.

It is silly to think that England will win where they lost 1-0 four years ago, despite the extraordinary efforts of Michael Atherton in Johannesburg. But the cricket-watching public will tolerate an attempt to introduce younger players in an effort to transform the performance - and general impression - of an increasingly unattractive side. Win or lose next week, the touring party must be selected with that goal in mind.

Hard times require hard measures - as Gooch and Gatting have found out. If Hussain is to be true to his word, he must also deselect Alec Stewart, the man he succeeded. Stewart played well for his unbeaten 83 in Manchester but he no longer enjoys the trust of the people he plays with. The way he handled the financial arrangements for the World Cup has left him so exposed that Hussain is better off without him.

The nucleus of the side is well-established: Hussain, Graham Thorpe, Mark Ramprakash, Darren Gough and Alex Tudor (when fit), possibly Andrew Caddick. To that list should be added Mark Butcher, who is going through a tough period but is likely to give full value in the end. England need players committed to the side, not themselves, and Butcher, like Dean Headley, is one of those.

It is not a long list, and it must be filled. Between them, Hussain and Fletcher face many evenings of doubt and a few days of misery. But the fact that the England and Wales Cricket Board have acknowledged that suns set and dawns rise offers a sliver of hope. Right now, that is the most the game can expect.