Nasser Hussain: It would be very nice to tour India more often
Anand Vasu - 17 November 2001
Nasser Hussain walked up to the Crystal South hall of the Taj Palace
sporting a broad grin and a cup of steaming tea on the eve of
England's warm up match against Mumbai Cricket Association President's
XI. The England skipper was relaxed and spoke freely to pressmen on a
variety of issues that are likely to stick with the tourists for the
duration of the tour. As England captain, he has been deluged with
requests for interviews, photo opportunities and all the other
trappings that come with occupying high office and being popular at
the same time.
On the kind of things the England team management had to work out when
on a tour like the current one at India:
NH: We do discuss things like that getting players to peak at the
right time quite a bit but I try and leave as much of that to Fletcher
as possible. He's really good at getting people to peak at the right
time. When we have one of our management meetings I might suggest, off
the cuff, that we play someone for two warm up games and rest him for
the third. Fletcher might then ask if it would be better to play the
person in the first game and then give him a bit of a rest and play
him in the third game just before the Test. Those are the sorts of
things we discuss in our management meetings. We have a few players
like Vaughan and Ormond who have niggling injuries and we need to
concentrate on getting people in top form, fitness and cricket wise in
time for the Test matches. You need to work with different people
differently. Someone like Atherton would have one way of preparing
before a big game while others need to be fired up a bit.
What it's like leading a young side in the absence of Atherton,
Stewart, Gough and others.
NH: As far as running the side, nothing has changed at all. Myself and
Duncan (Fletcher) have always run the side. This management structure
is virtually the same as before. We have a few experienced cricketers
even in this side. What we don't have really is the experience of
playing Test matches together. I enjoy captaining this side, sure. But
that's not because I didn't enjoy captaining Atherton, Stewart and
Gough and the other guys. It's just that this is a completely
different challenge. It's almost like our last Zimbabwe tour, a fresh,
new challenge.
On the kind of challenges that lie ahead and the mental aspect of it
all:
NH: Anyone who has been here before knows a bit about the challenges.
We don't want to overdo the mind games too much. The ball does a bit
early on, swinging around, and then they have two quality spinners and
some great batsman. It's just a question of how we cope with it. It's
the actual cricket that's important, the mind games are just two
percent of the whole deal. It's not the kind of game where you go out
and win by the scruff of the neck. You have to stay in the game and
put pressure on the local side. We have to make sure that we are still
in game towards the end of the Test match and that the pressure is on
India at some stage.
How England plan to achieve their goals in India:
NH: We're an inexperienced side and no one expects us to win. Quite a
few people have been writing us off 3-0. India will be playing at home
with big crowds expecting a lot of them. If we stay in the game, if
this inexperienced side does well, the pressure will be on India, not
us. The only way to do that is to get the basic cricketing things
right. We need to get a lot of first innings runs, take wickets with
the new ball, take every catch, field like the Australians and South
Africans are doing at the moment. The most important thing is to get
plenty of runs on the board in the first innings.
On the fact that Matthew Hoggard who has played just two Tests is
England's fast bowling spearhead:
NH: Yes he is. (Laughs) With his two Test caps! Then again we mustn't
build him up. Just because he's bowled well Pakistan and Zimbabwe and
for Yorkshire. Virtually everything they've done so far has no bearing
on how this tour goes. How well they prepare for this tour, will
decide a lot of things. They have to cope with the pressure and the
heat and the sweat and the roaring crowds. That will really test all
the youngsters. Matthew (Hoggard) is like anyone else. He's only
played two games. If he was bowling at Headingly on a cloudy day I'd
say he had a really good chance of doing well. Now we'll just have to
wait and see, like with everyone else. Obviously he's got my full
support and backing. He's got everything he needs; a big heart and
it'll be a stern test for him just like everyone else.
On the wicket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where England kick off
their tour:
NH: To be honest it's not what I expected an Indian wicket to look
like. It's got a lot of grass on it. Bounce in the surface is good.
There's a bit of movement. And yet, I think it'll turn a bit from the
first day, more from the grass than anything else. I think it'll be a
good cricket wicket.
What it's like coming to India after a gap of almost eight years:
NH: Personally it would be very nice to tour India more often, what
with all the attention we get and everything. I can't speak for past
tours. We hadn't been to the subcontinent for a long time until last
winter. Now in the space of 12 months we've fitted in Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and India. We're getting used to it. There must be some of the
younger lads who find it a bit daunting with the sheer numbers of
people around. Usually in county cricket we're playing in front of two
people! I was listening to Sunil Gavaskar on TV last night and he was
talking about all of the Indian players going out and giving their
best. That's what I'm going to be telling my boys and I hope we can be
successful. Really, that's all I can ask of them.
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