Nasser says Pakistan could have challenged England in Tests if …

Nasser Hussain's contrasting remarks about Pakistan and India

In an interview with a leading cricket website, Former English captain Nasser Hussain termed South Africa as the biggest challenge to England’s number one position. He, however, fancied had Pakistan not entangled in match-fixing and selection controversies, they too would have posed a real threat.

He said that England’s next big test will come in winter when they play in India, Sri Lanka and UAE against Pakistan. Apart from that, he said: "South Africa are a threat, they rely heavily on Morkel and Steyn. Imran Tahir is a very useful addition to them. They are a good side but I still fancy England.

“If you had all of the Pakistan team available and all fit, and none of the politics, and none of the going around in circles with captains and all that, with their bowling attack, they would be a threat to world cricket but unfortunately that's not the case." 


In the interview he expressed hope that England will rise in ODIs too, as they have started to select unorthodox players for the format. In that regard, as he states, next World Cup in Australia is very important.

Nasser has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. After an on-camera altercation with Ravi Shastri over the use of DRS, he equated some of the lazy Indian fielders with ‘donkeys’ during the T20 match between the two teams. BCCI officially protested while many in India got furious over the remarks.

Ravi Shastri at the toss in today’s first ODI match said that Indian players are lazy because they are intimidated by many donkeys around.

Nasser Hussain is generally regarded as a well-respected even-minded cricket expert. He was born in India, but bread in England and went on to captain England in all forms of the game.