There is perhaps no position more wretched in sport than that of 12th man.

First comes that sense of rejection as the coach reads out the team, a heavy punch to the solar plexus which must be immediately masked by a genuine-as-possible smile and hearty congratulations to the preferred few.

Isolation follows as you are gently ushered to the periphery of things.

Worse is to come.

Just ask yourself. The team is in deep trouble when the man who deprived you of a starting place steps up, the chance of transforming certain defeat into unlikely victory within his grasp.

Where do your loyalties lie now?

Or, put another way, who was Nasser Hussain supporting when England met South Africa in their triangular one-day final at Lord's earlier this month?

Hussain, of course - who remains firmly in charge of the Test side against South Africa at Edgbaston on Thursday - was no 12th man.

HUSSAIN'S DECISION

He took the decision himself to stand down as one-day captain and team member after a wretched World Cup. He may have felt, however, that he should jump before he was pushed.

Michael Vaughan's startling success as his limited-overs successor has certainly done Hussain no favours.

For not only did new-look England win under Vaughan, but they did so with unexpected style as well as with the biggest of smiles.

In effect, their joyous performances perfectly reflected Vaughan the man - open, optimistic, ambitious and hugely talented.

His trust in his team mates - "I said at the start I wanted 11 players thinking and I think I have had 11 out there thinking" - was amply rewarded. Marcus Trescothick and Vikram Solanki scored breathtaking centuries against South Africa, while James Anderson took a hat-trick in the series win over Pakistan.

Ten games into Vaughan's leadership - six wins and three losses - and coach Duncan Fletcher was already enthusing: "Iv'e been very impressed... He's got a good relationship with the lads."

Hussain's England have similarly mirrored their leader, a figurehead whose lesser natural abilities are bolstered by steely determination and a love of a dog fight.

If Vaughan was made for cavalry charges, the respected Hussain, who remains at the helm of the test side, seems happier deep in the hand-to-hand fighting of the trenches.

"Vaughanie is probably more relaxed and chilled out," according to all rounder Andrew Flintoff. "Nasser can be more intense. But I don't see a problem. They both have immense respect for each other."

WORST TEST SIDE

Hussain's England have rarely been pretty, but then they could hardly afford to be.

When he took over, they were the worst Test side in the world and needed a man to kick them into shape. Hussain obliged.

Under him, the side hammered the West Indies and ground out rare series victories in the stifling heat and humidity of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

When Australia's all-conquering captain Steve Waugh - himself under threat from a more colourful and gifted team mate - suggested that England were boring to watch, Hussain shrugged. He was employed to win battles, after all, not popularity contests.

His Test achievements have been admirable - to date he needs just three more victories to surpass Peter May's England record - but there was always going to come a time when more would be demanded.

That time may be fast approaching.

Vaughan, reflecting on England's surprising demolition of South Africa at Lord's, concluded: "What has impressed me is the manner in which we have won."

He could have been speaking for all English fans now thirsting for more panache in the hour of victory.

Hussain, hardly an automatic choice as a batsman when compared to his nearest rival, will be under pressure for the first time in years when he runs out at Edgbaston on Thursday.

He will be under pressure to make runs.

He will be under pressure not just to win but to do so with a flourish.

And, considering Vaughan's publicly stated Test captaincy ambitions, he may also feel under some pressure to watch his back every now and again.