Cricket: Hussain finds some personal calm amid the storm

England departed from a soggy Antigua yesterday hoping for some friendlier weather in Jamaica, although showers have been prevalent there as well. But due to a packed flight from the island, all the players had to leave behind their playing gear, which will be flown out this morning in time for their first net session.

However, the England vice-captain, Nasser Hussain, is not bothered by the lack of practice and insists he has outgrown the desire to achieve personal targets.

Now a secure member of the Test set-up, Hussain is more concerned about England beating the West Indies than accumulating a pile of runs in the coming series. With 500 since his England recall in 1996, the Essex batsman is now no longer looking over his shoulder at the other middle-order candidates.

"I would like to get 100 in the series because I haven't scored one against the West Indies," he said. "But I have got to the stage where I am trying to get away from personal achievements. My target is to come back to England as a winning side. It's about time we beat one of the major Test playing nations and I think we have a real chance this time."

Hussain toured the Caribbean in 1990, but things did not go to plan. He slipped on a wet tennis court in Guyana and injured his wrist and it was not discovered that a bone had been broken until he returned to England almost two months later.

Hussain did, however, play two innings in Antigua in that series, but did not manage to play a Test on the last tour in 1994, sitting out the entire series while Glamorgan's Matthew Maynard was given the nod. "I have been able to look back on the last couple of years with a lot of positives, although I am still looking to improve," he said.

Further overnight rain ruled out any possibility of completing the tour match at Ruaraka Sports Club yesterday, with Kenya struggling on 154 for 8 in reply to England A's 402 for 4 declared. But several weeks of storms have left all the grounds in the Nairobi area waterlogged and, after switching tomorrow's match to Ruaraka from the Gymkhana Club, which resembles a swamp, organisers admitted further rain would also wash out this weekend's finale.