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Journalism of Courage
Michael Vaughan arrived in Australia at the start of the Ashes like any other promising young English batsman; hoping to do well, but expecting a baptism of fire.
He was right about the baptism of fire but he needn’t have worried about doing well. After a slow start, the Yorkshire opener finished the series as the leading runscorer and the brightest prospect in English cricket for years.
England captain Nasser Hussain said Vaughan had shown he had the makings of a future test skipper while Australia captain Steve Waugh said he had the potential to become one of the all-time great batsmen.
“He looks an excellent player, he can achieve anything,” Waugh said. “As long as he doesn’t get too carried away, he can do anything he wants.”
Hussain said: “Michael Vaughan is a very, very solid character.
“Sometime in the future, he’ll probably make a very good England captain.” Despite playing in a side thrashed 4-1, Vaughan was a unanimous choice as player of the series after making 633 runs at an average of 63.30.
He made 177 in the second Test in Adelaide, 145 in the fourth Test in Melbourne then a masterful 183 in Sydney to lead England to a consolation win in the final Test.
Just as importantly, he scored his runs quickly and efficiently and was never overly troubled by the likes of nagging accuracy of Glenn McGrath and the potency of Shane Warne.
Waugh was highly impressed: “To get three big hundreds in a losing side against probably the best attack in the world, and playing away from your own country, that’s a great performance and one of the best probably in Ashes history.” Vaughan had come into the series with a big reputation after making a mountain of runs in the homes series’ with India and Sri Lanka.
But the quietly spoken 28-year-old said he was unsure of how he’d stand up to the fearsome Australian attack on the faster, bouncier pitches.
He started slowly but was into stride by the second Test, making centuries at the Adelaide Oval and then in Melbourne to finish 2002 as the world’s leading runscorer with 1,481 runs as well as breaking Dennis Amiss’ long-standing record for the most runs in a year by an Englishman.
The new year began badly when he was out for a duck in the first innings in Sydney but made amends with his second innings knock on a crumbling pitch that helped England win their only first-class match of the tour. “I wasn’t sure how’d I go and there was some doubts,” Vaughan said. “Until you’ve played the best you never know how you’re going to react as an individual.
“To stand up and score a lot of runs against them will only do my confidence the world of good.” (Reuters)
