Nasser Hussain's recent articles

NASSER HUSSAIN: Jacob Bethell is as raw as they come. He is just 21 years old and has never batted at three or got a hundred in first-class cricket. You have to go back to Mike Gatting in 1978 for the last time a specialist batter has come into the England Test side without a first-class hundred. But this is a very Key-McCullum-Stokes selection. They don't select on county form. They select on potential and what they call a high ceiling - how far can a cricketer go and what is his room for growth and improvement. It reminds me a bit of when I was England captain and sat down in selection meetings with Duncan Fletcher. Duncan used to talk about any selection being an investment in the future and he wanted to see a return on that investment - not just in the upcoming Test match, but over the next five years. ...read

NASSER HUSSAIN: England's Test team have returned home from Pakistan, licking their wounds after slumping to a 2-1 defeat. So, is the second loss in Asia this year a serious setback for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as they look to develop momentum ahead of next year's Ashes Down Under? And whose place is under pressure? Mail Sport columnist Nasser Hussain answers your questions… I would argue this summer, there was a bit of a reset as to the way England played. There were times they did soak up pressure. They got things spot on. In the first Test at Multan, they got it spot on, too. ...read