The Ashes: Captain Dazzler

Darren Gough emerged last night as a surprise contender to captain England in Nasser Hussain's absence and put a smile back on the face of the suffering team.

The feisty Yorkshire fast bowler put himself forward to lead the side in next week's second Ashes Test at Lord's and was confirmed by chairman of selectors David Graveney as a genuine candidate.

Gough, nicknamed Dazzler, has no experience of captaincy but said he would bring a feel-good factor to the side.

He warned of the dangers of handing the reins to Marcus Trescothick while Hussain recovers from the broken finger he suffered in the first Test at Edgbaston.

Hussain is likely to be out for three weeks but should be fit for the third Test at Trent Bridge.

The new captain will be named this week and Gough said: 'It's not something I would want to do full-time, but for a one-off game until Nasser comes back it would be a pleasure.

'Marcus is the obvious candidate but for a single Test there's a lot of pressure on him.

'The selectors could go that way or they could give it to someone who would play with a smile, not worry about any pressure at all and just get on with the job. But I doubt that it will happen.'

His pessimism may be misplaced. Indeed, Graveney suggested that Gough's appointment was by no means out of the question.

Gough and Trescothick are both on the management committee established by coach Duncan Fletcher, and Graveney confirmed: 'Darren has certainly not been excluded. He was considered for the captaincy against Pakistan when Nasser was injured. It's only right that all the senior players should be considered.

'As far as having a bowler as skipper is concerned, Waqar Younis was a pretty inspirational leader for Pakistan and Courtney Walsh for the West Indies.'

Former coach David Lloyd feels that 30-year-old Gough could be the answer to an awkward dilemma.

He said: 'Darren is an effervescent character and when the England team is down it needs someone inspirational to lift them.'

Trescothick, the former England Under 19 captain whose supporters include Ian Botham, said: 'I am pretty sure I could handle the pressure but until someone wants to talk about the situation with me, I'll just concentrate on my batting.

'Captaining England in an Ashes Test at Lord's is probably the biggest thing you can do in the game. It's certainly a bit different from skippering a junior side.'

Mike Atherton will be considered, although Graveney said he would understand if the former skipper turned down the job.