Hussain decision not unexpected - Lamb

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb has admitted that Nasser Hussain's decision to resign as captain of the England one-day team was far from unexpected.

Hussain had criticised the game's authorities during the World Cup campaign over the way the Zimbabwe issue was handled, but Lamb has said that he has a clear conscience on that and, in any case, there had been forecasts of Hussain's resignation at the end of the tournament.

"I wasn't entirely surprised because he had been giving speculation he might resign the one-day captaincy," Lamb said. "He did make it clear a couple of weeks ago he was considering his position.

"Of course the ECB takes responsibility for not going to Harare. It was our decision because we didn't get the necessary assurances over safety and security. Nasser knows that.

"It was a stressful time for everyone. Nasser did feel under pressure. It was also a difficult time for a lot of other people. I can assure you he had the full support of the ECB."

Hussain's father, Joe, pointed to off-field pressures as the reason for his son's resignation. He said: "You can take only so much and he has taken a lot this winter aside from being hammered by Australia, who are the best side in the world.

"There are other things outside of cricket which he has had to handle. Captaining the side on the field is one thing but captaining off it is another. You can't be a politician and a cricketer."

Among numerous tributes that have been paid since Hussain announced his retirement, perhaps one that will mean as much as any came from his opposing captain in his last one-day international, Ricky Ponting.

Sunday's defeat was the 14th in succession inflicted by Australia over England, but Ponting was fulsome in his praise of Hussain.

"I think he has done a good job for England as captain in both forms of the game during a difficult period," he said. "He has been under a lot of pressure but he has been a good leader and a tough player. "The past 12 months have been pretty difficult for him and lately he has had an Ashes loss, the tri-series loss and now the World Cup exit. I suppose England now has to look ahead and more towards making things good for the future."