The battle’s nearly Vaughan

Michael Vaughan must have pleased even fellow Yorkshireman and former opener Geoffrey Boycott in the commentary box. Vaughan has done an imp...

Michael Vaughan must have pleased even fellow Yorkshireman and former opener Geoffrey Boycott in the commentary box. Vaughan has done an impressive job as an opener, scoring a century and in the process and has given England an imposing lead against India in the first Test.

Yorkshire has a great tradition of opening batsmen, and Vaughan has followed Sutcliffe, Hutton and Boycott in donning the English colours. Unlike those great predecessors, however, Vaughan is a Lancastrian by birth. A tall man, he plays with a correct, upright style, favouring the front foot, and with a very straight bat in defence.

Vaughan’s greatest strength is his temperament, with excellent powers of concentration and that is exactly what he showed against the visitors on the fourth day.

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More importantly, Vaughan gave England a huge relief when he removed Wasim Jaffer, who was looking dangerous, just before tea. A former England A skipper, Vaughan earned England honours with the Under-19 team, and made his county debut in 1993. Six years later he was selected for the England senior squad for the South African tour.

He played in four Tests, mostly in the middle-order, and despite a moderate average impressed with his calm demeanour in a crisis, and was rewarded with an England contract in 2000. Injuries plagued Vaughan’s career throughout the 2000 season. Although a calf injury kept him out of the Test series in Pakistan, he came back to play in the deciding Test in Sri Lanka. For Vaughan, the 2001 season started off well and he stroked his maiden Test century against Pakistan at Old Trafford. However, a disappointing tri-series involving England, Pakistan and Australia saw Vaughan score just seven runs in four innings before the injury jinx struck him again. That said, if his century against India is any indication of his form, the current series promises to bring in lot of appreciation for Vaughan.

(Radiant Showbiz)