4th ODI, Auckland
Saturday, February 23, 2002

That was a good day for us, and I'm really pleased with the effort the boys put in here. The wicket was doing a bit, but we gave a solid performance with the bat. I thought it was a good score on that wicket, and we've got Michael and Graham to thank - they played exceptionally. Then when we bowled there were a few moments of brilliance, especially from Freddie.

Actually, I didn't realise until we came off that those were his best one-day figures. I thought either Vaughan or Thorpey would get the Man of the Match. Suddenly you look round and Freddie's got four for sniff.

His drop-kick celebration is becoming a bit of a habit. He alternates between that and taking his shirt off, so he's a bit giddy at the moment. Maybe he needs a nought for a hundred to bring him back down to earth. But not on Tuesday - he can wait till he's back playing for Lancashire!

Seriously, Freddie's put in a lot of hard work and it's really paid off this winter. There was always a little bit in the wicket for the seamers, especially after the rain. That's why Michael and Graham's knocks were so important.

Michael's going for a scan on Monday to see about his shoulder. He's very doubtful for the game at Dunedin on Tuesday, so we've just got to concentrate on getting him fit for the Tests. He can hold a can of beer though!

It was a funny match - there were so many catches that could-have-been, where the ball just dropped short or fell into empty spaces. It wasn't a great seeing ground, which might have been a factor. It's always tricky under the lights, and today we took some stunners and missed some easy ones. That's the way it goes - at least none of the close ones proved crucial this time.

When Chris Cairns was caning it around the crowd were going crazy. But it's a funny-shaped ground, and I knew once he started teeing off it was just a matter of time before he got one wrong. That was definitely the key wicket, when Colly picked him up.

I hadn't really thought about this ground being where I first captained England. Goughie mentioned it as we were driving in. Funny, but I don't remember why I was in charge - I suppose Ath must have been injured or something. It was a pretty similar game actually, rain-affected, but there was a huge crowd here today. I was a bit nervous this time - far more than when I first captained!

I think we're still a better side when we're protecting scores. To be honest we're still a bit clumsy - that's the only word I can think of to use. We've got a lot of talent in this side but things can all go wrong and we collapse. When we come together and play like we can, we're able to beat most sides. But at the moment we're living off sheer fight. It's a young side and the more we play together the more we'll settle down.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Camilla Rossiter. His thoughts appear on Wisden.com, other duties permitting, at the end of each international that England play.

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