Vaughan and his duck

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By Will 2 years ago, at the end of November Leave a comment on this post

There has been a quiet, bubbling undertone of farce surrounding Michael Vaughan’s injury. Armfuls of straws have been shipped to Australia, and everyone is clutching at them in blind hope.

Straws. Armfuls of straws

For no other reason than he is the captain who retained the Ashes, he is seen as the only one who can keep Australia from regaining them. Desperation was always likely to be in plentiful supply after a trouncing at Brisbane, but the interest in Vaughan has been an unwelcome distraction for England’s preparations to Adelaide. In a one-day match against the might (no sarcasm intended as you’ll find out) of Western Australia 2nd XI, Vaughan last seven balls and walked back to the pavilion for nought. At one point England Academy were 12 for 5 and Vaughan could only wryly smile at the hopelessness of the situation.

Even if he his knee somehow survives these warm-ups; even if he does find form; even if he does hit a century and take seven wickets with his offspin, is he really going to be ushered in and will he really be ready to lead England in Australia? He’s practically gone bald and grey since he last played for England. Only Brearley did the grey thing to any great success. The less said about Andrew Caddick the better.

Call me a cynic, call me a bitter old bastard but I don’t see it happening. Worse still, it’s another destabilising factor for England who, at the moment, can hardly walk in a straight line without falling over.

Tags: ashes, duck, england-in-australia, grey-hair, michael-vaughan, quack, straws, the-ashes, western-australia |

Comments to “Vaughan and his duck” Kathy wrote:
November 29th, 2006 at 11.08 pm

Will, you are a bitter old bastard. If Vaughan’s gone bald and grey, you’re clearly looking at different photos than me. Secondly, it’s his leadership that people are missing more than anything else â€” England haven’t felt properly “lead” since he’s been out.

You’re right, I think people have been clutching at straws as regards Vaughan, because they miss his influence on the team, his ability to squeeze the utmost out of the raw material there. What part he might play in the Ashes is pretty vague, and I worry that this will be another, and final, false comeback. But England are a better team with him in charge and you can’t blame people for wanting that again. I want it again.

Scott wrote:
November 29th, 2006 at 11.14 pm

Hell, even us Aussies want him back in charge. There’s no satisfaction in thrashing a team that’s not at full strength. We want you guys to be at full strength when we thrash you!

Tom wrote:
November 30th, 2006 at 12.52 am

Whatever happens in these warm-ups for Vaughan, I doubt any of it truly matters. With the mantra of ‘practise, practise, practise’ ringing for most of the English team, namely Harmison, Vaughan’s most important job for the England side is his captaincy and management. Granted his batting is of the utmost importance, but by no means does England rely on him to contribute every single innings (ala Ashes 2002-03).

It’s important he does get back into the fold, the ‘groove’ of cricket, but only for his captaincy ability.

Ollie wrote:
November 30th, 2006 at 12.48 pm

It seemed for a long while in the run up to the last Ashes that Vaughan’s mediocre batting was tolerated because of his skill as a captain.

Caroline wrote:
November 30th, 2006 at 12.54 pm

You wait till you’re in your 30s Will - that does not look bald and grey to me!

I think Vaughan has actually let show a bit too much of his desperate wish to play the Ashes again. It has slightly overshadowed his usual meticulous management of press releases. And that has caused a bit of confusion for England. But you can’t blame the guy for being so desperate to get better and play, when he sees things happening which he probably could do better as Captain, and hopefully as a batsman as well.

I would love to see him play in these tests - hell, that’s the main reason I bought the WACA tickets! But I would rather see him get fully better, than come back too early and stuff his knee for ever, regardless of the result.

Caroline wrote:
November 30th, 2006 at 1.02 pm

ps. You knew you would fire up Kathy and I with that - bet you did it deliberately.

And as for “even if he does hit a century and take seven wickets with his offspin, is he really going to be ushered in and will he really be ready to lead England in Australia?” . . . I’d say any Englishman who can score a century and take seven wickets would be more than ushered in; they’d be positively hunted down and nailed to the teamsheet for the duration. Offering him the Captaincy would be the least they could do . . . Flintoff is quoted as saying that the team pretty much captains itself, suggestion he personally has not done much background research and planning. I reckon Vaughan would have made it his business to know more that most about Australia’s current weaknesses, and would still have more strategies up his sleeve than dear old Fred.

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