He says he regrets it, but it stuck because it was just right. He loves to rule the roost. He can be as belligerent and uppity as a fighting cock and chirpier than a sparrow, but at the end of the game he smiles and shakes hands.
Above all, perhaps, England's new captain is a cricketer's cricketer. The Aussies may curse him, though they have got much the better of him over the years, and television viewers who have to suffer his chatter via the intrusive stump microphone may get fed up with his ``bowled Gussie'' and his ``catch it'' and his ``yees, owzat''. But everyone likes him.
No one who has played with or against Alec Stewart will wish him anything other than success in his first Test as England's officially appointed leader at Edgbaston tomorrow. Throughout the world game there is respect for his ability and the enthusiasm and professionalism with which he plays; and even among his opponents there is a grudging affection.
His virtues are such that he has a way of making people forget his peccadillos (not his vices; he is far too focused and disciplined for vices). Resilience and brightness are his hallmarks: he is so obviously a cricketer of spirit and optimism; there is no doubting his competitiveness, but it is up-front, honest. He is nothing if not an opportunist on the field, but never sly. He makes absolutely no secret of the fact that winning comes first and last with him.
He therefore takes a chance with this popularity when there is a match to be won. Twice in Barbados last winter he jeopardised the immense goodwill he had built up with some of the most passionate cricket followers in the world (not least by making a hundred in each innings of the 1994 Bridgetown Test). Playing in the less than deadly serious game which reunited Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge on the day that a stand at Kensington Oval was named after them, Stewart risked souring the occasion by arguing with the umpires after being bowled.
The lavish stroke he had just played against Franklyn Rose was the result of his spotting, with typical acuity, that there were only three men inside the 30-yard circle rather than the four required by the regulations. He made his point with force and no little theatre. The umpires told him that a batsman who is bowled has to go. The crowd sided very forcibly with the umpires.
Only a few days earlier England's captain-elect had claimed a catch at second slip, not realising at the time that Shivnarine Chanderpaul had squeezed the ball into the ground off the bottom edge. Perhaps the umpire should have sensed at the time that there was something curious about the dismissal and called for the television replay, which would have shown the bump ball. But, when he recalled the event at Edgbaston yesterday ahead of the first Test with clear-eyed zeal for the challenge ahead, there was not the tiniest trace of any guilty conscience.
``It wasn't as if he hadn't hit it or it hadn't carried to me. It was just one of those ones when it seemed like a fair catch as it happened and it was only when he was walking out that one or two of the fielders wondered whether it might have been a bump ball.
``I'm not going to change my approach as captain or walk off with a smile when I'm out. I've always believed in playing it hard but fair. It's a hard game and I know our opponents will play it hard. If I think there's a chance a batsman might have hit it or it might be lbw, I'll always appeal. I admit there have been shouts when, seeing it again, it's obvious the batsman hasn't hit it but if I'm 100 per cent sure it's not out, I won't appeal. I'm older and more experienced now, and I know what I can and cannot do. You must respect the game. Play it in the right manner but never in a soft manner.''
That is a comfort because ``image'' concerns the cricket on the field as well as dress and behaviour off it, where Stewart will continue to set an impeccable example. He has just turned 35, five years older than Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, the two men whose advice he will turn to in the field this season if he needs it. He accepts that he is bound to do so.
``They've both got good cricket brains and we'll be up against a very disciplined side. I know Lance Klusener and one or two others are capable of winning them a match but they do rely on Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. They're what I call a nuggety team. They give nothing away. Their bowling in South Africa last time was the most disciplined I've played against. They never erred from off stump or just outside.''
If he could, Stewart would umpire every match as well as captain, keep wicket and open the batting. He is very fit, following rigorous pre-season training with light exercises and work on the dumb-bells borrowed by England's trainer, Dean Riddle, from the rugby league player Ellery Hanley. But the selectors have obliged him to drop to No 4 at the start of this series and if everyone comes off and Mark Ramprakash bats as he did in Barbados and again for Middlesex on Monday, he could be at No 6 by the end of this series.
It is the obvious place for a batsman of such mellow experience who also has to keep wicket; but Stewart will not accept that he may need to throttle back a bit, as Gary Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Allan Border and other leaders of the modern era had to do. ``If the only consideration was Alec Stewart, I'd much rather open,'' he said. ``But for the good of the team I think No 4 is right. I feel I won't be wasted there. Touch wood, I'm fit and in good form. Whether as captain or as player I'm just desperate to win a five-match Test series. It's about time we did.''
England are unlikely to manage it unless Stewart, none of whose 10 Test hundreds have been against South Africa or Australia, contributes in full measure with the bat. His response to the biggest challenge of his life will be the most intriguing feature of the series.