Michael Vaughan is going to come back, there is no stopping the Vaughanernaut now.
The Guardian has been on the case all week. He made runs in some exotic land for Yorkshire and that is more than enough.
He is back, and as everyone knows, Australia cannot handle the raw brainpower of Vaughan, remember when he won that series, and the other one when he made all those runs.
Sure it was 7 knee operations and a semi retirement ago, but with Vaughan batting at number 3 and captaining, that will magically papers over any cracks that the English team might have had. Not saying they had any, but if they did he would fix them.
He is just that good, he won the 2005 ashes on his own, it was an amazing achievement, especially as no test team had won a test before with one man in it, but Vaughan is just that good.
There is a rumour that KP and Freddie will be rested for the Ashes if Vaughan is fit. No point risking their fitness when Vaughan is around to win the game.
Andrew Strauss might as well be shot; he is just that superfluous now. England don’t even need a coach, Vaughan is back, save your money ECB, in fact the ECB is no longer necessary, Vaughan is here to plug all gaps and make everything better.
The Australian camp is already running scared, they thought he was gone, their arch nemesis, their Gargamel, but alas he is back to win the series, take their women, and scar their children.
He is more than a cricketer, he is a force of nature, and even though he averaged 24 in his last year in test cricket, there has never been a figure that can scare Australia like this man can.
I don’t see how England can lose with Vaughan around, can you?
Ricky Ponting is probably spitting harder into his hands right now than he has ever done.
You can find Jarrod at cricket with balls every day, inventing Sehwagology, talking up Dirty Dirk Nannes, and ensuring no poor taste Michael Slater Jokes go unsaid.
2 Comments
Cricket with “balls” is a little off the mark – bollocks may be a better word under the circumstances. Is this based on Lawrence Booth’s little bit of kite flying in this morning’s Grauniad? He’s right about one thing – I think most Poms would rather gamble on Vaughan than to risk Ian Bell at No3, given Bell’s well-known fragility.
Most commenters are saying: “let’s see what he does at Yorkshire…” and, to be fair, he’s the same age as Ricky Ponting and a demonstrably better captain. And, er, when England picked a certain JM Brearley as captain despite his relatively poor batting record against the Australians, he did pretty well. Like Brearley, Vaughan is remembered as a leader of men and an able psychologist. Brearley’s opposite number was Kim Hughes, as I recall…
Let’s hope it’s a top series. I was there for 2005 and I’ll be there for some of this one – and it would be great to see some of Vaughan’s textbook drives through the gaps in the leaky off-side field…
Jonathan, 5 mentions on the Guardian in 2 days, I may be bollocks, but I still do a touch of research. During the same period there isn’t one article in the telegraph focusing on him, and only three times is his name mentioned.
Yes Larry called for him in the team, but then Andy Bull said “Vaughan’s experience, however, gives him a clear edge”, Hoppsy added this, “It seems England’s selectors are desperate for him to earn a recall and stir a few memories of the Ashes 2005.” They are the Guardian’s main three writers, all writing about Vaughan, and all saying one way or another they expect/want him in the side.
Not sure what his captaincy record has to do with this, even if he comes back, it wont be as captain. Would England have picked Brearley as a batsman a year after retiring from the captaincy? Vaughan’s record as a batsman is not that special, Test average of 41, average of 24 in his last year as a batsman, average of 40 at number 3, and averaged 32 against Australia in 2005. The last time Vaughan dominated Australia with the bat was 02/03. 02 was the only year in his career that Vaughan averaged more than 50.
I think it could be a top series with, or without, MPV.