Hussain hit by Lord's injury jinx again

Tony Lawrence

England captain Nasser Hussain's Lord's injury jinx returned on Saturday when he broke his right thumb in the first test against Pakistan.

Hussain, who suffered the injury when hit by a bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar, is expected to be sidelined for about a month, thus missing the rest of the current two-test series and the start of the triangular one-day tournament with Pakistan and Australia.

England's loss, however, means Hussain will at least be able to be at his wife Karen's side on June 1 when she is expecting their first child.

Hussain said: "I think my wife will be the only person who's happy in the stands. It's a big blow. I'm batting well, building partnerships. To have four or five weeks off is immensely disappointing -- when you are playing well you want to keep the bat in your hand."

The England skipper, who has a long history of hand injuries, was hit several times on the hand during his innings at Lord's and required on-field treatment. The damage, however, was blamed on the Shoaib bouncer that Hussain gloved away as he took evasive action.

After being dismissed for 64 -- he removed his right hand from the bat when facing the ball which dismissed him, caught behind off Azhar Mahmood -- he went to hospital where x-rays revealed the fracture.

Hussain added: "The ball hit me full on at 90mph and the thumb had nowhere to go. I'm not 100 percent sure how long I will be out -- it's a little bit displaced but our physio doesn't think it will need an operation."

The second test begins at Old Trafford, Manchester, on May 31 while the triangular one-day series opens on June 7, with the final two weeks later.

Hussain said the England captaincy, passed to Alec Stewart on Saturday, would be discussed again before Old Trafford.

Hussain and Lord's clearly do not mix. In 1999, he broke his middle right finger at Lord's against New Zealand.

Last season, he missed the Lord's victory over West Indies in the second test after breaking his left thumb while fielding for his county side Essex.

That injury also forced him out of most of the one-day triangular tournament with West Indies and Zimbabwe, which England won under Stewart.

Hussain also returned home early from the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year with a groin strain, missing the one-day series after England had won the tests 2-1.

"Maybe it's once you get to your thirties," he said. "I have broken fingers and injured the odd groin but it's nothing major, nothing career-threatening."

Mail Cricket Editor