Playing With Fire

When Nasser Hussain first met Duncan Fletcher, it marked the beginning of a partnership that was to transform the English cricket team. They injected steel into the team; they gave it backbone. England became a hard team to beat - and they started to win test matches, at home and abroad. And yet Hussain was at first glance an unlikely choice for captain. There were doubts about his temperament. He was reckoned to be a hothead and wore his heart on his sleeve. But this was the very stereotyping that helped Hussain manage his team. With a keen interest in his players, he knew what made them tick, and was determined to prove the doubters wrong.