Profile:
Yorkshire has a great tradition of fine opening batsman,
and Michael Vaughan has followed Sutcliffe, Hutton and Boycott to
full England honours. Unlike those great predecessors, however, he
is a Lancastrian by birth. A tall man, he plays with a correct,
upright style, favouring the front foot, and with a very straight
bat in defence. His greatest strength is his temperament, with
excellent powers of concentration.
Vaughan gained representative
honours with the England Under-19 team, and made his county debut
in 1993. He toured three times with England A, captaining the team
to South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1998-99. His captaincy and batting
made an excellent impression on this tour; he averaged over 40 and
led a very successful side. An excellent 1998 domestic season was
followed by a lack-lustre 1999, and he was a little fortunate to
be selected for the 1999-2000 full England squad for the tour of
South Africa. He played in four Tests, mostly in the middle order,
and despite a moderate average impressed with his calm demeanour
in a crisis, and was rewarded with an England contract in 2000.
Injuries kept Vaughan out of the first three Tests of the summer,
but when he returned he played an important part in England's
thrilling Lord's win. Although a calf injury kept him out of the
Test series in Pakistan, he came back to play in the deciding Test
in Sri Lanka.
The 2001 season started well.
Vaughan stroked a sublime century against Somerset in the Benson
and Hedges Cup quarter-final (his first one-day ton) followed by
an equally fluent maiden Test hundred against Pakistan at Old
Trafford. However, a disappointing NatWest Series (involving
England, Pakistan and Australia) saw Vaughan score just seven runs
in four innings before his injury jinx struck again. An operation
on his knee deprived him of any involvement in the Ashes, and it
wasn't until late in the season that he was able to resume normal
service in Yorkshire's CricInfo Championship winning side.
Vaughan's international winter
got off to a hapless start in the second Test against India at
Ahmedabad when, sweeping at Kumble, he was unceremoniously sawn
off by umpire Ian Robinson. However he made an unbeaten 31 in the
second innings, and was in prime form in the final Test at
Bangalore when, on 64, he swept at Sarandeep, missed, and then
trapped the ball in his glove before tossing it away. When India
appealed, umpire Jayaprakash rightly sent Vaughan on his way, only
the seventh batsman in Test history to be dismissed handled the
ball. After some promising contributions to the one-day series in
India, Vaughan suffered further misfortune in New Zealand when,
having made 59 in the fourth ODI, he was run out by Vettori as he
dropped his bat while making his ground. He then injured his
shoulder while attempting a catch. Recovering for the Test series,
he opened the innings throughout but failed to reach 50 despite
looking set to do so several times.
It was in the 2002 season that
Vaughan set the seal on his England credentials, and in doing so
cemented an opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick that looks
to be the bedrock of England's batting future. Vaughan's
second-innings century against Sri Lanka at Lord's helped England
save the match after following on, but it was in the series
against India that he reaped almost unimaginable riches. Another
second-innings century at Lord's - this time in a winning cause -
was followed by two colossal contributions, 197 at Trent Bridge
and 195 at The Oval. Distraught though he reasonably was to miss
out on a double century after twice getting so close, four Test
hundreds in the summer at last did full justice to his abundant
talent, and the measure of the entertainment he provided was made
by his captain. "I'd pay to watch him bat," said Nasser
Hussain, and surely no one who saw him in 2002 would disagree. He
also took useful wickets with his off-spin in both Test and
one-day internationals, including that of Sachin Tendulkar with a
beauty at Nottingham.
Recovered from a minor knee
operation, Vaughan travels to Australia knowing that he and
Trescothick form a key plank in England's hopes for an Ashes
upset.
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