Hussain says Vaughan:

'One of best captains ever'

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain praised Michael Vaughan as "one of the very best England captains" Wednesday, the day after he announced he was retiring from the sport.

"To win more than half your games in charge is a phenomenal achievement, and while I do not like comparing people of different eras it is hard to think of anyone who could have been better," Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail.

"He just ticked so many boxes, an excellent leader of men, a cool and calm captain who developed into an astute tactician."

Vaughan - who took over as captain from Hussain in 2003 - said Tuesday that he decided to quit after failing to win a place in England's 16-man Ashes training squad ahead of next week's first Test against Australia in Cardiff.

Hussain said the timing was just right for the man who led England to Ashes glory in 2005.

"You never want to see a class player and captain come to an end, especially as Michael has spent some time in the wilderness, but the timing of his retirement yesterday is perfect for himself and the England team," he wrote.

"There is no doubt that, if he scored a hundred for Yorkshire, we would have all been speculating on whether it would lead to an Ashes recall, and people like Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood do not need that."

He added: "Captaining England is the ultimate and Vaughan did it well if not better than anyone else who has ever done the job.

"He can walk away with an enormous amount of pride." LONDON, Tuesday (AFP)