Hussain: We still have a lot of work to do

Not content with over-seeing a dramatic resurgence in the England's Test fortunes, Nasser Hussain has arrived back home calling for improvements in his team before they take on Pakistan and Australia this summer.

"We still have a lot of work to do," he said. " Our fielding leaves a lot to be desired. Our fitness levels could be better; our catching could be better. I am a big one for stats and the stats say we have not done well against Australia. Just because we win four on the bounce does not mean we are closer to Australia. We will find out in the summer."

Hussain: A captain is only as good as their team Photo © CricInfo

Hussain was generous in praise of his team, however, and keen to credit them with historic victories against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, to add to last summer's wins against Zimbabwe and the West Indies. He also reiterated his disappointment at not being with the team for the one-day series.

"Captains are only as good as their teams and I could not have asked for more from my team," he commented. "Every time we asked for that final effort they responded. They wanted to play - all 11 of them. We lost three tosses in a row but we didn't have a siege mentality.

"I am disappointed to be here and not over there with my team. This is the most frustrating bit. You want to come back as a team. Unfortunately the injury comes first and the most sensible thing to do was to come back.

"The Sri Lanka series win was much better than anything we've done before. Bearing in mind the conditions, going 1-0 down in the series, the opposition we were up against, it was hugely taxing for the players and I'm very pleased for the team and for Duncan."

Looking forward to the summer, Hussain said: "We just need to rest up, get mentally awake and get our thoughts right. I'm sure our coach Duncan Fletcher will be thinking about Pakistan and Australia. Basically we need to keep things simple. That is the secret."

Hussain refused to be drawn on questions about the umpiring controversy in Sri Lanka in particular, commenting: " A few things went against us in the first Test but we have a group of lads now who want to play for each other and we didn't want to let people down. There were certain things that happen that were beyond the control of players. But we have a governing body and the ICC to take care of that. All we can do is play the cricket that we've played this winter."