Hussain slur saddens Lamb

The ICC is a small, potentially fragile and highly political family of cricket Tim Lamb

Former chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board Tim Lamb says he is "saddened" by some of Nasser Hussain's criticisms of him.

Hussain, England captain until 2003, has written a book which scorns Lamb's handling of the Zimbabwe question.

But Lamb told Five Live: "I found his account of what happened selective, incomplete and inaccurate.

"I have known Nasser since 1987 and I think our relationship will be strained by this. I find it rather sad."

In the interview for Sportsweek, Lamb said Hussain's accusatory approach to the ECB had come when "the rewards given to England cricketers have increased astronomically."

He was also surprised "someone who was happy enough to accept an award from the ECB should slag off the very people who have given him support and encouragement."

Hussain claimed that in the run-up to the 2003 World Cup "the ECB switched from being totally on our side to using emotional blackmail to force us into going to Zimbabwe."

Read more: Hussain attacks Graveney

In the event, England refused to go and failed to qualify for the second stage of the tournament, but Lamb insists Hussain had missed out some of the detail.

He added: "Whether you are chief executive of the ECB or the ICC you have to do what is in the wider interests of the organisation.

"The ICC is a small, potentially fragile and highly political family of cricket. Malcolm [Speed, ICC boss] was trying to keep the show on the road in South Africa."

Lamb says he will miss the people and players as he retires from cricket and thinks he will retain some involvement in the game.