Nasser Hussain speaks

[fwullah]

As far as the tournament itself is concerned, there has been a lot of speculation about the wisdom of including the 'lesser' teams and of playing group matches over such an extended period of time.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to give the junior teams Test and one-day status then you have to give them as much of a chance as possible to play against top opposition. I don't appreciate the knocking of the 'lesser' teams - they need encouragement. I turned the television on a couple of weeks ago - Bangladesh were being hammered once again, but one of the commentators was virtually laughing at them. That really isn't the way forward. Cricketing people need to work with the Bangladeshis and the Kenyans to help them improve their game.

I do have some reservations, however. The key question for me concerns the amount of growth potential there is in a country. Because of Bangladesh's population and location you can feel certain they will improve, just as Sri Lanka did. They started off being beaten by everybody but now, 20 years later, they have won the World Cup and have produced three or four world-class players.


Source:
http://www-bd.cricket.org/link_to_da...22SEP2002.html

Full Article:

Openers are now world class
Nasser Hussain - 22 September 2002

It must have come as something of a surprise to many people watching our first game in Sri Lanka when Marcus Trescothick simply popped back into the one-day team and scored a hundred, but nothing he does surprises me any more.

'Tres' and Michael Vaughan came into the side at roughly the same time and they are of a similar vintage so I tend to group them together, and with both of them I have come to expect the unexpected and the impossible.

The way they have grown in the game since they first played international cricket is incredible. Both have now become highly respected world cricketers in a very short space of time - I know that because I've become quite close to Tres and I've spent a bit of time with him here. There has been no shortage of top international players coming up to shake his hand with respect in their eyes. It's amazing to think how quickly he's made the journey from Somerset's No 7 to a player with world status.

I thoroughly enjoy batting with Tres - some of that may be because I use him in a vice-captaincy role but mostly it's because he keeps smacking the ball for six, which is very settling when you're at the other end.

This may sound strange but I believe the broken thumb actually helped his game rather than hindered it because - and I should know - a six-week break from the game helps to clear the mind of any doubts and you forget the bad habits that may have crept into your technique. When you're playing constantly, and practising constantly, you tend to repeat the same little faults.

I've always found that when you have the chance to get away from batting and spend time in the gym getting fit and watching videos of yourself at the crease it's like having a refresher course in the game. That's a lot of the problem with English cricket, playing constantly without the chance to reassess and regroup. Whoever you are and whatever sport you play, by playing all the time you're simply "training the brain", as Duncan Fletcher says, to repeat the same errors.

So the bottom line is this: I'd advocate a really good finger break for most players from time to time!

I will confess to being far more surprised at how well Marcus played in the last Test at the Oval, however, because he'd only had two one-day matches to prepare and it showed huge strength of character to overcome the psychological challenge of going straight back into Test cricket.

Off the field Tres has an important influence on the squad, too, because he is the consummate professional. Everything he does is meticulously prepared and carefully planned. His routine is not only an eye-opener and a reminder to the senior players, but when there are young players in the dressing room they rightly assume Tres is the norm and they follow the example he sets.

He identifies the specific work he needs to do with the coach, like his slog-sweeping, then he works with Nigel Stockhill on his shoulder strength, then it's to the gym and the pool. His whole day is geared towards being a better cricketer and that has opened the eyes of some senior players such as Thorpe, Caddick, Gough and me. Even more important is the influence he may have had on players such as Robert Key, Ian Blackwell and Andrew Flintoff.

Young players can be disruptive but Tres and Vaughan have actually set the standard for all of us. Effective self-policing is the secret of much sporting success.

Tres's sporting maturity also extends to a dislike for micky-taking when it comes to cricket. Banter and teasing are commonplace in the dressing room but Tres draws the line when it comes to any teasing about the game, even something apparently harmless like laughing at one of our tail-enders who slogs the last ball of a one-day match up in the air. He simply doesn't believe in planting the seeds of negative thought because they grow into strong, long-lasting doubts.

As far as the tournament itself is concerned, there has been a lot of speculation about the wisdom of including the 'lesser' teams and of playing group matches over such an extended period of time.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to give the junior teams Test and one-day status then you have to give them as much of a chance as possible to play against top opposition. I don't appreciate the knocking of the 'lesser' teams - they need encouragement. I turned the television on a couple of weeks ago - Bangladesh were being hammered once again, but one of the commentators was virtually laughing at them. That really isn't the way forward. Cricketing people need to work with the Bangladeshis and the Kenyans to help them improve their game.

I do have some reservations, however. The key question for me concerns the amount of growth potential there is in a country. Because of Bangladesh's population and location you can feel certain they will improve, just as Sri Lanka did. They started off being beaten by everybody but now, 20 years later, they have won the World Cup and have produced three or four world-class players. But I must ask a question about Holland, for example. Do they really have the scope to become a Sri Lanka?

Still, given enough chance they will improve. The trouble is, the teams they play against will also get better so the gulf between the nations becomes a very difficult one to bridge.

The Australians, for example, have become a virtual machine. Watching them in their first two games here has been an interesting experience.

Extremely professional summarises their approach and I think they'll be a very good team for some time to come. The squad almost seems to have been restricted to a certain physical stature and a certain age limit. You can see why they've turned to a younger group of players; they are a formidable outfit.

As far as the structure of the tournament is concerned, I'm not alone among captains who believe the knockout format was far more efficient.

Teams are waiting a week or more between games and that's just too clumsy in such a crowded international calendar. I spoke to Andy Flower after our opening game and he told me the Zimbabweans have to wait for an extra week after their playing commitments have been completed just to attend an official dinner.

It may be harsh on the small teams to deny them a second match but the knockout format really is the only practical solution. Let's keep it short, sweet and intensive.

© The Electronic Telegraph

[Runtings]

I totally agree with what Nasser Hussain stated about the smaller teams. The only reason we got fast tracked over Kenya to test status was our vast potential, interms of numbers playing and watching, and a timely win over Pakistan in the last world cup.

Holland and the lesser countries have the right to compete in world cups, as they earned it through qualification. But the problem is that these countries dont play regularly- not internationally, but domestically. Holland need to play in the english country game to improve. Its a good idea that Scotland will be playing in the english one day competition next year.