Wednesday, January 16, 2002 It has almost become a cliché. Over the past 18 months cricket correspondents throughout the land have accompanied every other mention of Nasser Hussain with the words "the best England captain since Mike Brearley" (unless you're Brearley himself, who recently called Hussain the best England captain since Keith Fletcher, his own successor). But does the epithet hold water?

The stats suggest there isn't a case to answer. Brearley led England in 31 Tests, of which he won 18 and lost just four; Hussain's figures are 27 Tests, 10 wins, nine defeats. Brearley won seven of his nine series in charge; Hussain has won four out of nine. But, as Ken Barrington never said, comparisons are odorous, and this one smells fishier than it looks.

Seven series wins, of course, are not be sniffed at, but Brearley's need to be put in context. Two of them - 3-0 in 1977, 5-1 in 1978-79 - came against Packer-weakened Australian sides. Three (2-0 v Pakistan and 3-0 v New Zealand, both in 1978, and 1-0 v India in 1979) were expected. Another (1-0 in India in 1979-80) was a great win but a one-off Test, while the immortal 3-1 Ashes triumph in 1981 was largely due, in Brearley's own modest words, to "a series of enormous flukes". His ingenuity was partly responsible for making average opponents look very weak, but this does suggest that Brearley had luck as well as that Degree in People. He avoided the might of the West Indies, and the only time he came up against a full-strength Australian side, in 1979-80, England lost 3-0.

True, two of Hussain's four wins came at home to Zimbabwe and one of the weakest West Indies sides ever to tour here, and he was only the second England captain to lose at home to New Zealand, even if he did inherit a rudderless shambles. But by winning two series on the subcontinent in one season, he did what no captain in the world had achieved since Richie Benaud in 1959-60. And he restored some post-Ashes pride with a ruthless performance in defeat in India. Then again, what would he give for one Ashes win, let alone three?

Brearley was a masterly man-manager, but he was helped by the quality of the men he had to manage. He had four truly world-class performers in Geoff Boycott, Ian Botham, David Gower and Bob Willis. The only player who has consistently touched those heights under Hussain has been Graham Thorpe, but he has missed 12 of those 27 Tests. What is clear is that both men made the most of their resources, but Hussain's have been considerably more limited.

Captains, though, are ultimately judged on results, and it wasn't Brearley's fault that the fixture list treated him kindly. It may be a tough call, but Nasser still has work to do. He isn't far behind Brearley, but he can draw level with series wins in New Zealand and at home to India and Sri Lanka. And he will pull ahead for good if England avoid defeat in Australia and make the semi-finals of the World Cup.

At least he is armed with the ideal weapon. Before the start of the West Indies series in 2000, Simon Hughes took Hussain out for dinner and lent him a book that he thought might be of interest. It was The Art of Captaincy by Mike Brearley. If he can absorb its many lessons, history may yet record that loan as the turning-point in Nasser's career.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. His English Angle appears here on Wednesdays.

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