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Graham Thorpe, a man with minimal leadership experience but arguably England's best batsman, is the most likely choice as Nasser Hussain's stand-in for the Old Trafford Test should the new captain fail to recover in time from his fractured finger.

Thorpe, consistently overlooked by Surrey for office, took control yesterday when Hussain was forced to leave the field after being struck on the right middle finger by an Adam Parore cut. Now he could be set to continue, even though he has never even been the official Surrey vice-captain.

Thorpe is Hussain's closest friend in the England side and the Essex captain is a big believer in his cricketing knowledge and tactical acumen. If Hussain cannot take his place at the helm for the third Test, beginning on Aug 5 - and the odds are stacked against him then his vote is almost certain to go to the man he already privately favours as his deputy on this winter's tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Whether that will be enough to convince the other selectors of Thorpe's suitability for the role remains to be seen. He has led Surrey in just one first-class match - against Durham in the County Championship in 1994 - and has sometimes been seen as being too wrapped up in his own game to be a candidate for leadership.

Indeed, he did himself no favours by refusing to turn up for a function with Kent members during England's World Cup training camp, a misdemeanour which cost him L1,000.

Yet those same reservations were held against Hussain by some in authority before his overdue promotion and he has already proved himself a natural leader in the short term of his office.

Thorpe himself has become frustrated at the lack of leadership opportunities offered him by Surrey but has been unlucky in that the emergence of Adam Hollioake, seen by his county as a natural captain, coincided with Thorpe's own formative years.

Even this season, though, Surrey looked elsewhere, the appointment of Mark Butcher as Hollioake's deputy seemingly offering confirmation that they continue to hold reservations about their leading batsman. They are doubts that Hussain, for one, does not share.

There are no shortage of other candidates for the selectors to ponder. Mark Ramprakash was the only other man interviewed for the captaincy before Hussain was appointed, but the Middlesex captain has not impressed in leading his county and is having a difficult season with the bat.

Ramprakash, not for the first time, seemed to have established himself as a top-class Test performer last winter when he enjoyed a fruitful Ashes series, but he has again appeared to withdraw into his shell so far this summer and the selectors may prefer to let him concentrate on his batting in an attempt to rediscover his ability to impose himself on the opposition.

The other candidate is intriguing. It has always been the English way not to go back to past leaders, hence the reluctance to hand the reins to Alec Stewart yesterday. Yet there is a case to ask Mike Atherton, fitness permitting, to not only return to the team for the third Test but to lead them at the Old Trafford ground he knows so well.

Hussain is known to favour a return to the fold for Atherton should his back be up to the strain and his name will be high on the list of those discussed as a potential batting replacement for Hussain.

So, too, will be that of a man who has stimulated more debate than any other in the modern game. Graeme Hick's days were thought to be numbered after the World Cup, particularly as Hussain is a fan of mentally strong players. Far from writing off Hick, however, Hussain feels he could be the man to bring the best out of a batsman who has both thrilled and exasperated ever since his Test debut in 1991. Hick is sure to be considered for Old Trafford whatever happens to England at Lord's today.

This will also be a big week for Alex Tudor. There are fears that the 'hot spot' found in his left knee by the scan that caused such controversy and consternation last week could develop into a stress fracture unless it is carefully treated. That means Tudor will have to rest the injury, almost certainly ruling him out of the rest of the New Zealand series.

After Edgbaston, English cricket at last had a smile on its face now, with Darren Gough, Tudor and Hussain all injured and England struggling in the second Test, the picture does not appear quite so rosy.