Why is Michael Vaughan not in England’s Ashes squad?
Because he’s busy scoring tens of runs for Yorkshire and pensively rubbing his knee when in the field. Seven first-class innings, 147 runs at 21 with a top score of 43. County cricket can consider itself safe from combustion.
It’s common for people to say that Michael Vaughan has ‘class’, but without being allied to fitness and a single-minded attitude, that unquantifiable attribute doesn’t count for much. We’ve a suspicion that Vaughan’s batting started to decline around the time he started becoming a property magnate.
While twatting painted balls against canvas isn’t too distracting, Vaughan’s also taken on things like becoming head of corporate leisure for the Skelwith Group. Outside interests are good, but can you spin so many plates with your fingers in so many pies. If you try and spin the plate using the pies, you’ll only damage the pies and probably spazz the plates over as well.
Far better to put the pies on the plates and leave them somewhere safe while you go and hit a few balls in the nets.
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We are still a bit mental about slow cookers
You’re being unkind to Michael Vaughan. He still has a role to play for England. He can advise Straussy on how to be a good captain with a happy smile – not that awful Yorkshire nasty grimace he has when Sky show him in the pavilion after another bad innings. Such a nice man. He has been treated badly after his tearful farewell – grow up and grow old gracefully like we all have to.
he could cover the pies in paint and fling them at a canvas.
Darren Gough never had trouble with having fingers in pies.
Rob Key famously has his fingers in many pies. And around many.
But then, he can’t get a proper England gig either.
Damn you Ged Ladd for getting up at 10 to six to get the obligatory Rob Key / pie link in before the rest of us.
Vaughan made a compelling 10 against Notts last night – the comeback continues….
Mmmm, pie
I should think Yorkshire are the most disappointed that Machiavellian Mickey isn’t enfolded back into the England bosom, they’re in dire need of a decent no. 3
It says something good about English cricket that we don’t hang on to once-great players either through sentimentality or because there is no-one else to replace them. The Aussies have recently been guilty of both these crimes, to their detriment.
Equally, MV’s current lack of form shouldn’t stop us from celebrating what he was – one of the great English batsmen and in the highest league of test match captains from any country.
I saw Vaughan make 145 at the MCG and 183 at Sydney in the calendar year 02/03 when he made 7 tons and remember him pulling Brett Lee for 6 in the first over of a day’s play – he was just seeing it so big back then. The only two comparable times I can think of seeing a batsman stay in such red hot form for so long are Kallis 3/4 years ago and Mohammed Youssuf a couple of years ago. I know the likes of Sangakarra, Hussey, Hayden, Lara, Chanderpaul & Graeme Smith have had some good years, but not quite in that top tier for me.
Shame he never got a double-hundred………he deserved one.
Bert, when he was good, he was very good. Unfortunately, there were only a few years of good. For how many series was he actually England captain? Eight? He was captain between 2003 and 2006, having had his first Test start in winter 1999/2000.
I don’t regard him as a great batsman, as he simply doesn’t have the longevity. Very good, yes, but not in the same breath as Dravid, Big Shiv, Waugh or even Aravinda, all of whom graced the international stage for over a decade. One criteria for true greatness is whether you can move with the times, change your game to overcome injury, and so on…and Vaughan hasn’t demonstrated that extra dimension.
Ged – what are you doing reading King Cricket so early in the morning?
Weirdo.
Bert
that is exactly what you English are doing – hanging onto once great players etc.
think “Freddie”
anyway, we let Warne and Gillie and Hayden go — and now look at them!
Bert – hanging on to once good (not even great) players until they’re way beyond their sell-by-date is an English tradition.
F’rinstance, Atherton, Stewart, Gooch and Gatting were all kept around for a couple of years longer than they should have been, especially Stewart.
The only long-term players I can think of in moderately recent times that were dropped before they had a chance to decay noticeably from their peak would be Thorpe and Robin Smith – and perhaps Hoggard (but then again I’d still be picking him if I were a selector).
The first batsman of any nation in more than 30 years to get 600+ runs in an Australian tour.
A former #1 batsman in the world rankings.
A batting average of 48 against the 2nd best bowling attack the world has ever seen.
An average over 50 before getting the captaincy.
A win / lose / draw of 26 / 11 / 14 as captain.
I will concede that his batting as captain was not of the highest order, but in what other sense is he not one of the best performers in recent English cricket history? He gave England a sense of direction and an understanding of how to win that they have sadly thrown away since he fell off the scene.
Bert, I owe you an apology — I thought you were bigging up MV as one of the world’s greatest ever batsmen (or possibly captains), rather than just England’s.
MV’s definitely one of England’s best batsmen over the last 20 years, possibly 30 (behind Gower and Gooch I reckon), and the best captain since Brierley.
Still don’t think he should labelled as one of England’s greatest ever, however.
No weirdo me, DC. Just a man with both a job and a cricket habit. Lay in a bit this morning.
MV was a good captain but I think some of the credit he gets should be attributed to the foundations laid by the Nass & Fletch partnership beforehand. We were really in the mire before Nass took the helm.