Hussain retires as captain Cricket Second Test

Cricket: The Nasser Hussain era, which began against New Zealand four years ago at Edgbaston, came to a dramatic end on the same ground yesterday, when the England captain resigned his position after 45 matches in charge.

Although Hussain was named in an unchanged squad for Thursday's second Test at Lord's, it will be the Yorkshire opening batsman Michael Vaughan who will lead the side following his success in the role in the recent one-day series against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

It is, Hussain said after yesterday's drawn first Test, his ambition to continue batting for his country as long as he is wanted.

A tired Hussain faced the press yesterday evening and said that the job had become too much.

"It's time for a change," he said. "After last winter - the stuff that went on off the field and on the field in Australia - there were a lot of difficult times. I've tried to play these mental games but I found myself out there on Thursday not the kind of captain I wanted."

In announcing the decision, the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, paid tribute to Hussain. "It has been a privilege for me to work with him. He has always conducted himself in the wider interests of the England team."

Hussain had already retired from one-day internationals earlier in the summer, but that was interpreted as a determination to be able to concentrate on pushing his Test captaincy through to next summer, by which time he would have overtaken Mike Atherton's England record of 54 matches as captain.

But having consulted Graveney first thing yesterday morning - but not the England coach, Duncan Fletcher, his great friend whom he knew would try to talk him round - he gave his decision to the team after rain and bad light brought the match to a premature conclusion.

"The dressing-room was pretty quiet," Hussain said. "There was no cheering anyway."

Having missed seven weeks while Vaughan's more liberal regime carried all before it, Hussain found it hard to pick up the pieces and drive the side on. It was this - and the disastrous first day of the first Test - that clinched it.

"Vaughnie and the boys seemed to enjoy the one-dayers so much," he confessed. "It was difficult because my style has been about aggression and kicks up the backside. After seeing a young side enjoy themselves under a different style of captaincy, it was very difficult for me to be aggressive. It had moved on a little and they had a lad who could take it on."