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Joe Hussain 1940-2008

Nasser Hussain's father dies aged 68

Cricinfo staff

April 29, 2008

Joe Hussain, the father of former England captain Nasser Hussain, died in his sleep on April 26, aged 68. Nasser said his father had suffered from various health problems over the last eight months, including pneumonia.

A native of Madras, Jawad played a solitary first-class match for Madras against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, and also represented Madras University. He was a regular in the first division league of the Madras Cricket Club. He emigrated to England in 1963 but returned to India 18 months later, emigrating for a second and final time in 1975. He played club cricket in Essex and in 1995 took over the Ilford Cricketer School which has a remarkable record of producing first-class cricketers.

Hussain's two other sons both played a good standard of cricket. Mel represented for Worcestershire, while Abbas turned out for Essex 2nd XI.

Essex wicketkeeper James Foster paid tribute to Hussain who coached him at Ilford for ten years from the age of nine. "He gave me a lot of advice when I was younger and looked after me a bit. Joe definitely improved my game - he was the type of coach who let you play, show off your natural flair and then correct you accordingly. He wasn't shy in telling you if he thought you were being lazy. As a coach I thought he had the perfect balance.

"Joe's passing is a sad loss to cricket as he had a lot of friends and people who he has helped in the game. The Ilford Cricket School has run well as a real feeder system for Essex cricket over the years - for that Joe can take a great deal of credit. Joe was very passionate about cricket and was obviously a driving force behind Nasser's success as well as being very keen for his other 'boys' [those he coached] to do well."

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