Hussain resigns as England make exit

World Cup: Exhausted captain steps down as one-day leader after Zimbabwe advance via abandoned game against Pakistan

England's unhappy and ultimately unsuccessful 2003 World Cup campaign claimed its first casualty yesterday in Port Elizabeth when Nasser Hussain resigned as one-day captain after learning that his side had been knocked out of the tournament.

Hussain announced his decision to stand down two hours after hearing on the golf course that Zimbabwe's match against Pakistan had been abandoned in Bulawayo. This result gave Zimbabwe the two points they required to move above England and into third place in Pool A.

After his leadership decision and retirement from one-day international cricket, Hussain confirmed his strong desire to carry on as the captain of the England Test side.

Speaking with emotion at the end of another agonising day ­ in which he and some of the others in England's World Cup party could not bear to watch what transpired after a cyclone had blown through Bulawayo ­ a downbeat and drained Hussain said: "I believe the time has come to step down as the England one-day captain. I am 35 this month and there must be people out there who can average more than 30 and have a better strike-rate than 67. These, however, are just my feelings for one-day cricket and I would like to carry on as the England Test captain.

"Without wishing to sound big-headed, I firmly believe England are a better side with me as captain, but I also believe I don't merit a place in the one-day side any more and it is time England moved on. I am 100 per cent dedicated to the Test side but I shall take myself off the selection panel for the next two months so that better people than me, the selectors, can decide whether they would still like me to do that form of the job."

It would be a major surprise if Hussain was not awarded the captaincy for next summer's two scheduled Test series against Zimbabwe and South Africa because he is still an outstanding leader. Yesterday's move was not entirely unexpected because it comes at the end of a pretty miserable winter for the father of two in which he has spent over four months away from home.

Since leaving the UK in mid-October, Hussain witnessed his side outplayed by Australia before being unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup. However, the period that will have caused him most anguish was not cricket-related, it surrounded England's decision not to travel to Zimbabwe for their fixture on 13 February. Although staying away may ultimately have cost them a place in the Super Sixes, and it was in many ways inevitable that Zimbabwe would be the side to knock out England, this period would have taken most out of Hussain.

Captaining the England cricket team is widely regarded as the toughest job in sport and it is clear that the combination of too much cricket and the pressure the role entails eventually became too much for him. Hussain also wants to extend his Test career for as long as he can and this is something which will have strongly influenced his decision. Although the World Cup is big and one-day cricket is the more glamorous form of the game, most top players feel that Test cricket is the ultimate measure of how good a cricketer you are.

"This winter has left me mentally and physically drained," he said. "I also want to ease the mental strains of doing everything so I can spend some time thinking about myself and my batting in a purely selfish way.

"I want to play in 100 Test matches and captain England in the Test arena for a little while yet. To help this I intend to have two months completely off from the game." Hussain's decision leaves the England selectors with plenty to think about before the domestic season starts in April. The search to find a replacement will not be easy even though there are several players who would like to be considered for the job. As of yet, a suitable candidate from within the side has failed to stand out.

The selectors also have to decide whether the man they put in charge is the one they eventually want to take over as Test captain. If they do, the selectors will look no further than Marcus Trescothick or Michael Vaughan. However, if they want to have separate captains, which is not advisable because one would undermine the other, the net can widen.

Such a view would bring the Surrey captain, Adam Hollioake, or Paul Collingwood into the reckoning. However, this is unlikely and the next England one-day captain will probably come down to a two-way tussle between Trescothick and Vaughan.