Graveney rallies behind beleaguered captain

England's chairman of selectors David Graveney today gave his full support to Nasser Hussain as England captain following a claim by former Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes that England need a new skipper for the third Test at Perth.

England have gone two-nil down in the series after losing by an innings to the world champions in the second Test at Adelaide.

Hughes told the BBC that Hussain "gave up" in the second Test and "had fired all his shots."

"The field placings were as if he had a complete lack of interest in what was going on in the ground," Hughes said. "They had no plan formulated to get Australian wickets. The field was virtually spread around the park. The Australian batsmen were led to do what they like."

But Graveney is standing by the England skipper. "He has my full support and will continue to do so," he responded. "He is an outstanding captain and what Merv says is completely out of place.

"It is a difficult job and there is massive pressure. The reason why we've had a certain amount of success, apart from playing Australia, is the relationship between the captain and coach (Duncan Fletcher)."

"I still believe we can turn things around," Graveney added. "It is not as if we have not created opportunities. No-one walks out wearing an England shirt without giving 100% but we haven't played to our fullest capabilities.

"We have thrown away two good batting positions. We have shown the capability of getting near 350 but have been unable to prevent Australia getting over 500. The bowlers need to show more consistency in the business area."

Former England captain Mike Gatting agrees with Graveney. "It is one of those scenarios when the man in charge is the one you fire shots at," he said. "But there are 10 other guys and you have to rely on them to do their job. You cannot really lay the blame with the captain. It is their discipline as well.

"You have to remember this Australia side is a magnificent side and you can't self-destruct. It was so sad to see England get in such a great position then play some very soft shots down the order.

"I thought we had a batting line-up that would get 400 on board once or twice this trip. Once you do that you can put teams under pressure. The guys have got to be honest with what they've done and learn quickly from their mistakes."