An emotional farewell, with flashes of humour ("great match in which I've taken catches, scored runs, and run out two players - one of them on my own side"), and undoubtedly a touch of theatre.

In the short-term England are definitely a weaker team without The Saviour of English Cricket (I shall henceforth evermore refer to Nasser Hussain by this title), and the bookies have probably shortened the odds on a New Zealand victory in this series.