The news of Nasser Hussain's retirement has prompted a variety of emotions from our readers. Some believe he will be irreplaceable in the national team, others that his faults should not swept under the carpet.

Nasser Hussain announcing his retirement

The end of an era

A sad say for cricket on the whole. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye! We will all miss Nasser, he has been a great ambassador for the game and England. A man of integrity and passion for the game, a legend and an icon. He has made England competitive nation and let's not forget he has narrowed the differences between the masses by asking the Asians of this country to support the team.

He has done well. I hope this is not the last we see of him in cricket. Coaching in the pipeline maybe, Nasser?
Shiraz Peer, UK

Heart on the sleeve

Possibly the best England captain for a long while, who has almost single handily dragged English cricket from being the laughing stock of world cricket, into a respected force.

Hussain in my opinion was a gutsy individual, and one of the few guys in the game with any integrity. It is a great pity that he never achieved 100 Tests for England, but has proved his worth as captain and a middle order batsman.

He may have not achieved a batting average of over 40, but is still (along with GrahamThorpe) one of England's top middle-order batsmen.

Nasser... I will certainly miss your heart-on-the-sleeve performances for England All the best for the future. 
Martin Rowe, UK

To move forward

There are always protestations of remorse in the media when an established figure leaves the scene. Irrespective of the criticism levelled against him in the main of his part, by the simple act of leaving he is made into an icon and his departure is commiserated over with "what will we do now?" and "how shall we go on?"

I think none of these things of Nasser Hussain. He always tried hard, granted, but rarely had the ability to lift England out of mediocrity - either as captain or batsman. It is a wonder that someone who played Test cricket for 14 years and was regarded as the mainstay of the middle-order should end his career with an average in the mid 30s. These days an average of 50 is the bar for excellence.

As captain, he did not have the same tools to call upon as Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting. Of this there is no doubt. But lesser teams, such as South Africa or New Zealand, managed to martial their resources in such a way as to extract maximum performance from them. With two bowlers and one batsman, South Africa ruled everyone besides the world champions. With two bowlers and one good captain, New Zealand came close to unhorsing Australia.

Hussain was the most competitive player in the England team throughout the 90s, but not the most gifted. Our cricket establishment owe him thanks for his great labour, but to move forward we should not forget his faults.
Andrew Cross, UK

A brave man

Hussain had guts and that's what you need when you go out there to play cricket for your country. Having big cars and looking good in photos is all very well, but what you do on the field at the end of the day is what counts. It is all about honour in the line of duty and Hussain did that.

It is very critical that the guys who replace him remember what he did. Strauss hit a 100 in his first game, so probably thinks it is easy. But it is only under fire from the Australians, or deep in a Pakistan tour, that he will find out how tough it really is and just what it will take to replace Hussain.
R Grindle, UK.

The England team now

I have watched Hussain play cricket for some time, he has filled the screen with his important innings, his apologies at press conferences, his impatience in the field and his desire to win. I think never could you say he was a passive captain or player. He was always impatient for his team take the upper hand.

So how will England replace him? First of all I do not think that you can. There may be many players out there of the same kind, but Hussain's character I think was unique. What Duncan Fletcher must consider is who will provide the fire and the backbone of the team out in the field now that Hussain is no longer there. Michael Vaughan I think is not the man to do that kind of thing. Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher are now the most experienced, but they are quiet men. So who will it be?

This then I think is the greatest tribute to Hussain. Although Andrew Strauss promises to be a better batsman, it is impossible to think of one player that might come into the team and fill the hole left by the retirement of Hussain.
Michael Smith