MP Vaughan of England

Full Name:

Michael Paul Vaughan

DoB:

Tuesday, October 29, 1974

Birthplace:

Manchester

Teams:

Yorkshire

Test Debut:

v South Africa at Johannesburg (Wanderers), 1999

ODI Debut:

v Sri Lanka at Dambulla, 2001

Bats:

RH

Bowls:

Off-break

Player Record:

link to stats

Australia rate Michael Vaughan as a real threat because of his three Ashes hundreds in 2002-03, but his form has dipped alarmingly since that heady period.

Those three big scores were the climax to a fantastic year, during which he also scored 900 runs in seven Tests against Sri Lanka and India, and rose to the top of the world Test batting rankings.

But, since that annus mirabilus, Vaughan has fallen from greatness to the ranks of the merely very good, something many pundits blame on the distractions of the captaincy, which he took over from Nasser Hussain in 2003.

Statistics do back up that point of view, as Vaughan averages 50.98 when not captain and only 38.09 when leading his side.

But his team has flourished under his relaxed but astute captaincy, encouraged to back themselves and to greater freedom of self-expression than they had known under Hussain.

Partly as a result of their fabulous team spirit, England went undefeated in 2004, then became the first England side to win in South Africa for 40 years.

England need Vaughan to recapture his 2002-03 form because if he does not they could find themselves regularly going two down for not very many.

Vaughan on form would be a real treat for the packed crowds because, along with Damien Martyn, he is one of the most elegant players on view.

The Australians regard him very highly because he had that wonderful set of three hundreds against them in the last Ashes series.

So the Australians will focus on him because they've seen him at his best and they know what a dangerous player he can be.

But since Australia, though he's made runs, he's never reached anything like those heights. What we've had is intermittent success and failure.

It happens to a lot of players who become captains that their batting suffers because they spend so much time thinking about other players and tactics, and not enough time thinking about their own batting, or working on it.

Vaughan has to apportion enough time for his own batting because he is an important part of our line-up. If he plays well, psychologically it lifts the team because he's captain and, practically, it will put us in a strong position because he's batting high up the order at three.

What he's brought to the captaincy is that the whole England team takes a lead from him and gives the impression that they really enjoy the game. You see the team smiling and it's infectious for the whole country.

He's a phlegmatic, easy-going guy who doesn't lose his temper easily and smiles a lot. But he's strong underneath because you can't play well against Australia without being tough.