Ian Botham has said that Nasser Hussain, England's beleaguered captain, should be dropped after having led England to a 0-3 thrashing in the Ashes. Botham also wanted Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick to call it a day. "Enough is enough," he said in an interview in London's Mirror newspaper. "After yet another Ashes series defeat, it's time to clear out the deadwood and build a brave new England. They must bite the bullet and bid farewell to Alec Stewart, Andy Caddick and, I'm sorry to say, Nasser Hussain as Test captain."

Botham said he had "often waved the flag for England since Hussain took over and he deserves the nation's gratitude for restoring their credibility." But he added that the current series had clearly taken its toll. "Nasser did a great job in marshalling those memorable wins against West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but now he looks shellshocked. That is understandable because England's catalogue of injuries and substandard performances have been unbelievable, but it is time for him to walk away."

Botham was particularly critical of Hussain's frequent conversations with his bowlers. "Hussain's captaincy has clearly suffered," he said, "notably the excessive henpecking of his bowlers from mid-off every other ball. As Jeff Thomson said on TV during the Perth Test, Nasser wouldn't like it if someone ran up to him as he took guard and told him which shot to play from the next delivery. When you start telling a bowler what to do all the time it can only undermine his confidence and if I had been playing in the last match I would have been tempted to throw the ball back at him."

However, Botham said he hoped Hussain would resign rather than be sacked. "He deserves to go with dignity, so I hope he is able to walk away from the job." But with Hussain repeatedly making it clear he was not about to quit and England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, saying that it was "paramount" that Hussain stayed as captain, Botham's words are unlikely to be heeded.

Botham himself is no stranger to losing the captaincy during an Ashes series. After bagging a pair in the drawn second Test at Lord's in 1981, Botham resigned as England skipper, although Alec Bedser, then the chairman of selectors, confirmed in a subsequent television interview that the decision had already been taken to remove him from the job. But with Australia 1-0 up, Botham proceeded to turn in an extraordinary sequence of matchwinning performances, with both bat and ball, which saw England fight back to win the series 3-1.

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