Johannesburg - England's captain Nasser Hussain has made an indirect sideswipe at the Wanderers pitch conditions and condemned it in his report to the International Cricket Council.

Which could provide some fun for those in charge of pitch preparations at the bullring where South Africa yesterday thrashed the tourists by an innings and 21 runs before lunch on the fourth morning of a match hit by rain and bad light.

Although Hussain, no doubt for diplomatic reasons, did not refer to the pitch at Edgbaston two years ago where Australia were 52 for seven at lunch on the first day of that particular Test, described by Steve Waugh a being "underdone and unfit for a game of this nature" the 31-year-old England skipper is quietly angry.

He let it be known yesterday that he has made out a pitch report the contents of which "are between me and whoever reads it and for others to make judgements on that pitch" when tackled on the issue of the what was a damp, soft surface.

It is not the first time that Dirk Scott, the Wanderers groundsman, has come up with an unsatisfactory pitch.

Scott though, was not responsible for the fiasco of the pitch prepared for the West Indies Test which barely lasted beyond lunch on the forth day. Clive Lloyd, the West Indies manager was known to be critical of that particular pitch.

Hussain, however, was more open about his comments and felt it was not a "good cricket surface". Selecting his words carefully Hussain said there was little either side could do about the conditions.

"It is for the umpires and the match referee to decide what is to be done. Once you turn up for a match you have to play on it," he said. "You cannot start the game because it is damp."

He expressed similar views when questioned about the light condition son the first day when England's top order was blown away in a matter of 16 deliveries which began with a vicious in-swinger which up-rooted Mike Atherton's off stump the second ball he faced from Alan Donald.

"They have a light metre to check conditions and see if it is okay," he said.

"It was just unfortunate that we had to bat on it."

Asked about his though of Test pitches, Hussain came across clear enough to point an indirect finger at the one prepared for this game. He expressed certain unease and unhappiness about the Wanderers surface of day one.

"The point of a Test is to provide a good, even contest between the bat and ball: to bring spin into the game, to bring all forms of technique into game.

"It is up to you to decide whether that surface provided for this game. I found it very interesting cricket," he commented.

"You sit there and watch and it is a three-day game again: the ball is flying over the wicketkeeper's head or shooting along the ground, and going sideways and you have Donald and Pollock, Gough and Caddick running in.

"It is interesting but it is not the sort of game the purists want to see," was his frank appraisal.

"There are two ways to play on that pitch: one is to rely on your technique, which what Mark Butcher did, or as Alec Stewart did, and take the attack to them. But it was too little too late," he added.

"We have to let it pass us though, sit down tomorrow and think through it with a clear head and try to work out areas we must improve on," he added.