Gough offers to captain as Butcher and Stewart decline

With several of the leading contenders having ruled themselves out, Darren Gough has offered to captain England in the Second npower Test at Lord's in the absence of the injured Nasser Hussain.

Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher have both exclusively revealed to CricInfo that they would prefer not to lead the side.

Alec Stewart told CricInfo that: "There's been some speculation that I might become captain again, but I wouldn't take the job back if it was offered. I think it's time to move on. I only did the Old Trafford Test and the one-day series to help the side out in an emergency. I've been captain and done everything that's been asked of me, and I think it's better to look to the future now, so I won't be putting my hand up for the job."

Mark Butcher expressed similar sentiments in his CricInfo diary. "I know some people have suggested that I might be the man to take over... To be honest, I wouldn't be very happy about that. I might have been a little bit naïve the last time I took it, not realising what I was letting myself in for... Being England captain does not hold too many good memories for me."

The current favourites to stand in for Hussain are Mike Atherton and Marcus Trescothick. Graham Thorpe, having performed the job when Hussain was injured in Sri Lanka, is another possibility if he is fit.

Atherton has previously been reluctant to return to the captaincy after his long stint in the job, specifically in 1999 when Hussain missed a Test against New Zealand. That leaves Marcus Trescothick as the favourite for the job.

But Gough, whose web site www.darrengough.com is hosted by CricInfo, told Sky Sports that he may be the ideal man to lead England in one-off game. Gough has reasoned that the extra burden of captaincy might adversely affect the young Trescothick.

"When you look at the candidates, Marcus Trescothick is the obvious one, but for a one-off Test there is a lot of pressure on him," Gough said.

"They could go that way or they could give it someone who would play with a smile and not worry about any pressure at all and just get on with the job," Gough suggests.

Gough does not have any captaincy experience and insists that he would not want to take the position permanently.

"It is not something I would want to do full time, but for a one-off game while Hussain comes back, it would be a pleasure.

"The way I look at it is that if you give it to a young lad in a one-off Test against Australia, there would be so much pressure on him. But I don't think it would affect my thinking or anything.

"I would just get on with it and think it an honour. But after that one game I would probably think it was only for one game. There are plenty of candidates and whoever it is I'm sure they will do a good job.

"But I doubt that will happen" Gough concludes.

While Trescothick, who skippered his country at youth level, believes he is capable of captaining his country, he won't waste any time considering it, unless asked.

"I am pretty sure I could handle the pressure but until such time as someone wants to talk about the situation with me, I'll just concentrate on my batting," he said.

"Captaining England in an Ashes Test at Lord's is probably the biggest thing you can do in the game. It's certainly a bit different for skippering a junior side," he told the BBC.

Other options for the England selectors are thought to include leading county captains Mark Alleyne, John Crawley and Adam Hollioake.

However, David Graveney, speaking before the news about Butcher and Stewart became public stated that: "I don't think we would bring anyone else in from the outside."