Hussain out for three to four weeks
England captain Nasser Hussain will
be out of action for "three to four weeks" according to an
England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman after having his
thumb fractured by Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar at
Lord's today on the third day of the First Test.
That means Hussain will miss the second and final Test
against Pakistan which starts at Old Trafford on May 31 and is
doubtful for the start of the one-day triangular series also
involving Australia that begins on June 7.
Hussain will play no further part in this match, the
spokesman adding he would not bat even in dire emergency.
Ex-England skipper and Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman Alec
Stewart will take over the captaincy for the rest of this
match.
Hussain was on 63 when he got behind a rising Shoaib
delivery that rapped him on the bottom hand. He immediately
let go of the bat and three balls later he was caught behind
off Azhar Mahmood.
Hussain has a history of hand injuries. Last season he
injured his left thumb fielding for Essex a week before the
Lord's Test against the West Indies. Stewart again took over
the captaincy and retained it for the one-day series.
Previously in 1999 he sustained a broken right thumb here
at Lord's in the Second Test against New Zealand and missed
the Third Test Old Trafford.
Hussain's hand problems began in 1996 when Indian pace
bowler Javagal Srinath broke Hussain's right hand at Trent
Bridge.
Mail Cricket Editor
