Stars mourn Hussain

12:56pm Thursday 1st May 2008

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ESSEX stars Ravi Bopara and James Foster are among those mourning the death of Joe Hussain, the father of former England captain Nasser, who has died at the age of 68.

Hussain ran the famous Ilford Cricket School, which produced a huge number of future first-class cricketers, including Bopara, Foster, Hussain, John Lever, Graham Gooch and Varun Chopra.

England all-rounder Bopara said: "Joe was a wonderful man who did a lot for cricket in the Asian community and took a lot of responsibility for cricket around East London.

"All the young kids wanted to practice at Joe's school. He was always setting up competitions like mini World Cups for us."

Wicketkeeper Foster added: "Joe gave me a lot of advice when I was younger and looked after me a bit. He definitely improved my game."