His first few series as captain were not very impressive in terms of wins. In the third Test against New Zealand, Hussain stood on the balcony of The Oval and was booed. It was tough, but he endured it all. He lost the series against New Zealand 2-1. That was followed by another defeat against South Africa. But his batting stood up to the strain of captaincy away from home. He scored 370 runs at 61.66, against the Proteas.