Hussain's England tired but raring to go

Nasser Hussain's England have had a long hard summer. We all know that. But for those who missed out on the packed itinerary that England's cricketers were subjected to, Hussain's voice gave it all away here at Colombo. He's regarded as one of the game's finest captains at the moment and is a strong motivator. Today, however, to say that his team were desperately looking forward to flying out to the heat and humidity of Colombo for the ICC Champions Trophy would be taking things too far.

Luckily for England, they can only play a maximum of four games in this tournament. "It's a very quick tournament and you can't lose two games so it's a knock out tournament really. Every game is important. This is not something you can ease into," began Hussain.

He added: "We've had a huge amount of injuries over the English summer and we have an inexperienced squad and I would say for once we're looking a little bit further ahead. Obviously we're looking to win the tournament, but we're being realistic and are looking to see which people put their hands up for the more important stuff later this winter."

The English have already set their sights firmly on the Ashes. They cannot, however, forget India or Zimbabwe, their fellow members of Pool 2. "We've played Zimbabwe and India quite a bit in the last year and it's unusual that we're all in the same group. All three sides know each other very well and have had reasonable amount of success against each other. It will be the side that best copes with conditions and fitness that will prevail. India have a full strength side that is playing some good cricket at the moment. It is up to us to surprise a few people here," said Hussain.

He warned against complacency against Zimbabwe: "If we prepare well and do things right before the game we can beat Zimbabwe, but if we don't, and leave some things to guesswork, Zimbabwe can be a very dangerous side."

Despite playing a lot of cricket over the summer, he stressed the importance of adapting to conditions quickly. "It's very important that we prepare properly and get used to conditions for the first game. Some need rest and yet, looking at the heat, we also need to be outside getting used to the conditions. It's crucial that we hit the first game running," said Hussain.

Hussain looked on the bright side of England's injury crisis: "We've lost a few key players but that gives a great opportunity for some of the other lads. It's up to players like Irani, who haven't played a lot of international cricket, to get some experience, put their hands up and say `I want to be in this side for a long time."

Despite being exhausted he expected the senior pros to lead from the ront. "One thing we have to do as senior players, who have played all summer, is give the young lads who are here respect. They will be hugely excited about putting on an England shirt for the first time - the Clarkes and the Blackwells and people like that. For them it will be a huge tournament and we would be doing them a disservice if we turned up tired and moaning and groaning."

Acknowledging that England missed Darren Gough terribly, Hussain took consolation from the fact that the batting had clicked in recent times. "We' ve generally batted well in both forms of the game in the last year but we probably need to find someone like Darren Gough who gives us a bit of fight on the field. As captain I'll be looking for one of the bowlers to show a bit of character."