Cricket: Hussain takes time out

By RICHARD BOOCK in Queenstown

England captain Nasser Hussain will start his preparations for the test series in slightly unorthodox fashion this week - by taking a break.

When the tourists arrived in Queenstown yesterday for their four-day match against Otago, starting on Saturday, Hussain was nowhere to be seen after being given a rest-break by team management.

Beaten 3-2 in the one-day series, the England squad have been boosted by the arrival of their six test specialists - all expected to play in the match against Otago.

The two players unavailable are Hussain and batsman Michael Vaughan, who dislocated his shoulder at Auckland last weekend and will not be considered for selection.

England coach Duncan Fletcher said there was immense pressure on international captains these days and believed that they could be overwhelmed by the job if precautionary measures were not taken.

New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming had a similar break at the end of the ODI series in South Africa two summers ago, taking time out in Cape Town before rejoining the test squad at Paarl.

"I don't think people appreciate how hard Nasser's job really is," Fletcher said. "He's under tremendous mental and physical pressure, and we thought it was important that he got away from the team so that he could clear his mind.

"I'm not sure where he is. I just told him I didn't want to see him for a while. I think he may have gone off somewhere with his wife for a few days.

"He can start thinking about cricket when he rejoins us in Christchurch. The big thing is that it's better for him to have a rest now rather than risk him feeling burned out later in the tour."

Fletcher said Marcus Trescothick would captain the side in Hussain's absence. Warren Hegg would keep wicket - meaning another week on the sideline for incumbent test gloveman James Foster.

The six fresh faces - Hegg, batsmen Usman Afzaal, Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher, spinner Richard Dawson and paceman James Ormond - replace Darren Gough, Paul Collingwood, Ben Hollioake, Nick Knight, Owais Shah and Jeremy Snape.

Gough topped the one-day bowling averages with 13 wickets at 14.38 and always caused trouble for the home batsmen.

"It's very hard to see him go," Hussain said on Tuesday night. "He's a top performer. As captain he's always the first one on your team sheet with the way he plays and the way he is in the dressing room. We'll miss Darren without a doubt."

It puts pressure on New Zealand-born paceman Andrew Caddick to hit form quickly after a disappointing start to the tour.

Fletcher was optimistic about the potential of his squad.

"I think we've got a quite nicely balanced test side now, particularly with Ashley Giles on board because we've often missed a spinner," he said.

"I think Giles will do well for us. Andy Flintoff gives us extra depth in our batting and bowling, so the ability and potential is certainly there."