The England cricket team has been going though a lot recently as they had to face the Ollie Robinson tweets issue in the first Test. And, former captain Nasser Hussain believes it might affect the players as well in the second Test that began at Edgbaston on Thursday. Notably, the first Test ended in a draw.

“I have no doubt that England’s cricketers will be able to focus on the matter at hand at Edgbaston — winning a Test series against New Zealand,” Hussain wrote in a column in Daily Mail. “Yes, they have had a lot to deal with since the Ollie Robinson tweets emerged. But these guys are professionals and there’s too much at stake from a cricketing point of view for them to be distracted. There are places to play for and five-Test series against India and Australia on the horizon,” he said.

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However, Nasser Hussain expects that the captain, Joe Root wouldn’t carry the tweet controversy into the second match. He hopes so because Root is not at the end of his captaincy career. Despite saying so, Hussain also admitted that off-field matters can become a burden to the captain too.

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“Root is not at that stage as a leader. He’s only 30, it’s the start of the summer and England are about to play at one of their favourite venues in front of 17,000 fans. Jimmy Anderson is set to become England’s most-capped player. Above all, the captain will be excited. One of the keys as leader is to have a clear mind about the cricketing decisions you need to make. Root’s focus will very much be on what kind of team he wants against a New Zealand side missing their skipper Kane Williamson and who may have one eye on next week’s World Test Championship final against India,” concluded Nasser Hussain.

However, after this series, England will play a five-match Test series against India in August as well.