Product Description

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, born in India to an English mother and Indian father was at first glance an unlikely choice for captain. There were, it's fair to say, doubts about his temperament. He was reckoned to be a hothead. Hussain wore his heart on his sleeve. The responsibility of captaincy kept him awake at night; he railed at critics of his hold on the No3 spot; and he took a stand in the moral morass over England's scheduled fixture in Zimbabwe during the last World Cup and he proved his doubters wrong. Nasser Hussain pulls no punches in this bestselling autobiography. It is the story of the most interesting, thoughtful and passionate cricketer of recent times, in his own words. For the first and last time. Hussain wore his heart on his sleeve: railing against complacency, defying critics of his place in the batting line-up and making a principled stand at the last World Cup when the ECB seemed incapable of it. Expect passion, integrity, insight and candour in his eagerly awaited autobiography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #226667 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
Nasser Hussain was born in Madras, India in 1968. His family moved to the UK when he was seven. He made his debut for Essex in 1987 and has remained at the County ever since. He made his test debut for England in 1990 and was made Captain in 1999. He played 45 tests as Captain before resigning in July 2003. He was acknowledged as one of England’s finest ever Captains. He lives in Essex.

Customer Reviews

Nasser Hussain's Life - Warts and All
This book is very easy to read. You don't get bogged down as you can easily find with many other autobiographies. Nasser Hussain's life is presented here, warts and all, for the reader to digest and ultimately you will find yourself passing judgment upon a cricketer who has been hated as much as he has been respected. Personally I found his distaste at the cricketing system refreshing in the pages of this book. He respects those who are up front and honest even if the opinions expressed are against his own, while on the other hand he dislikes intensely those who are two faced and sneaky. Nasser Hussain is a man who obviously put lots of peoples backs up during his career but if he had tried to be Mr Nice Guy it is quite clear he would have failed in his quest to be so successful as a cricketer.

There are certain things I personally found quite disturbing. For example the admission that Nasser Hussain's father had had such a huge impact upon Nasser's life and decision to take cricket seriously. One got the impression that this was an example of a classic pushy parent. Nasser Hussain seems to be in fear of upsetting his father, to the point of getting his brother to phone up his father when he stood down as England captain and then again when his career came to an end. Going back to his childhood if Nasser Hussain played well at cricket then the whole family got "chocolate and curry" and his father was happy, but if Nasser Hussain didn't play well then the whole family suffered as a result. Personally I read this, and as a parent, I thought that this is surely unhealthy.

This book details the many confrontations that took place during Nasser Hussain's career and he has obviously upset a lot of people along the way. This apparently enabled him to play cricket with fire and passion. This book describes Nasser Hussain as being fiercely loyal to those around him, those who he calls "my boys." There are many examples described where Nasser Hussain stands up for his boys sometimes against fierce opposition. His reputation as a bad boy earlier in his career obviously enabled him to understand other bad boys later on and encourage them to give a lot to the England cause. I felt very sorry for Nasser Hussain when he describes how he found himself betrayed by some he had backed strongly.

You get an impression about sportsmen and women by watching their careers as they progress. But this book shows that there is a lot more going on behind the headlines, behind the highs and lows of their career. Nasser Hussain has written a wonderful, frank account of his life - full of exciting highs and depressing lows. Some are disturbing accounts and others describe the wonderful joys of being a sportsman at the top of his profession. If you only ever purchase one autobiography make sure it is this one.

We drink lager here David, not Champagne
I ploughed through this in a couple of days. It is an immensely readable book by a very engaging man. Hussain appeals to me: he really wants to get inside the heads of the people he admires or doesn't understand. Steve Waugh, Andy Caddick, Tim Lamb and others all merit more than passing mentions as those players and administrators who Hussain has come across.

But this is far more than a chronological trot through English cricket in the 1990s. We see the sources of Hussain's huge passion to succeed and impress his father. We read about the staggering acts of will Hussain submitted himself to to drag the English game from its lowest edd during and after the 1999 World Cup.

Debate about how good a captain Hussain was is irrelevant because he was the only sound choice in the circumstances. Reading between the lines, one sees that much as Hussain admires Butcher, Stewart, Trescothick and co, he really felt that he was the only one that could be the captain England needed at the time. Hussain is too honest here to admit as much but it's clear to any reader with more than a passing interest.

Much of the talk of the dressing room amuses but also reveals the petty streaks Hussain knows he was guilty of and contributed to his being overlooked when Atherton resigned. That he has admitted as much rather lessens the cause of those that would point fingers and demand he should have grown up sooner. He is very self aware. Cricket is an analyst's game and Hussain's characteristic introversion lends itself to his study and immersion in the game.

In many respects this is no more than a run of the mill autobiography. Its strength though is its subject because Hussain is engaging, thoughtful and almost fearlessly revealing. That he should deal with Zimbabwe first is fitting because, if he'd been in Tim Lamb's shoes, he would have dealt with it first. By the end of the book, almost as a microcosm of the situation itself, it is forgotten and we remember his glorious, valedictory, winning century against the New Zealanders.

A VERY honest autobiography.
One word sums this book up..."honest". However that would discredit how much more the book brings to the reader, in terms of interest and intrigue in the career of Nasser Hussain.

Nasser doesn't mince words and says exactly what he thinks, and how he felt about certain figures in cricket at the time of various disageements and turmoil through his career.

There is a wonderful insight on the behind the scenes trouble over the Zimbabwe affair, making any cricket fan feel shocked at how the England team were left to deal with the situation.

The book follows Nasser's career, right from his days as a kid in India to becoming England captain, through to his almost perfect final match at Lords.

It is a fascinating book for all cricket and sports fans in general. From reading this book you really get a feeling for the pressure and mindset needed to be a good England captain. Also some of Nasser's life springs up some surprises about the man. It is a chunky volume to read, with lots of great photos throughout the book, finishing with a detailed facts and figures glossary at the back; looking at Nasser's batting and fielding figures for Essex and England. Over all a very enjoyable book!