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Chris Waters: Past glories may not be enough for Vaughan to make Ashes comeback
IF Ravi Bopara breaks a finger between now and the first Test against Australia on July 8, who would you draft into the England side?
Owais Shah, who batted No 3 during the winter tour of the West Indies but then lost his place to the Essex batsman?
Robert Key, who many believe has not been given a fair crack of the whip at international level?
Ian Bell, who has so often flattered to deceive in an England shirt but who remains one of the most talented players on the county circuit?
Or Michael Vaughan, who knows exactly what it takes to beat Australia but who has struggled for runs since resigning the captaincy last season?
Ideally you would probably want to turn to AN Other – someone who positively demanded inclusion on recent form.
But in the absence of credible alternatives who scream for attention, you realise just how close to selection Vaughan – despite just 147 runs in seven County Championship innings this season – could potentially be.
Of the candidates listed, Shah inspires little confidence in this quarter despite his prolific performances in the county arena.
The Middlesex man is like a cat on a hot tin roof at the best of times and the Australians could be quick to seize on his nervous disposition.
Key's time has probably come and gone – thanks, in no small measure, to the closed-shop mentality that saw too many batsmen retain their places in the England side for too long when others surely deserved a chance to impress.
Bell raps out runs for fun in county cricket and yet question marks remain over his ability to deliver for England when it matters most.
Vaughan would love to be rapping out runs for fun in county cricket but still has the proven track record and captaincy experience that could prove tempting once the Ashes unfolds.
But to pick Vaughan for the Ashes would be to pick him on the basis of what he has done in the past – not on the basis of anything he has done in recent times and, as such, would represent an obvious gamble by the selectors.
Vaughan will get a good idea of where he sits in the pecking order when England name their pre-Ashes squad at lunchtime today.
An extended party of up to 17 players will be announced with the aim of getting them properly prepared for the challenge ahead, with the cricketers scheduled to meet for an extended get-together at the National Performance Centre in Loughborough in an Australian-style attempt to improve team bonding.
If Vaughan is not included in the pre-Ashes squad it can be safely inferred that he will not be the first cab off the rank should injury strike. But even that would not necessarily spell the end of his international career for best-laid plans have a habit of changing dramatically during an Ashes campaign and Vaughan, of course, remains one of England's centrally-contracted players.
The other factor to consider is Kevin Pietersen's injury situation.
England's best batsman has already conceded his Achilles injury might prevent him playing a full part in the series, offering Vaughan another potential route back into the national team.
In Pietersen's absence, England could decide that Vaughan's experience is even more valuable – particularly with a new coach at the helm in the form of Andy Flower.
When Vaughan was allowed to keep his central contract last year against expectations (even the player himself admitted he was fortunate), national selector Geoff Miller made clear that one of the reasons was because of Vaughan's experience – a decision that was clearly taken with one eye on the Ashes.
But Vaughan would not merely be fortunate but the luckiest man alive if he got back into the England side on the back of an average of 21.00 in this year's Championship.
Two Yorkshire cricketers with a better chance of being named in the pre-Ashes party are Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid.
The former made a good impression on his Test debut against the West Indies earlier this year, while the latter impressed with his talent and temperament during England's ill-fated Twenty20 World Cup campaign.
Flower, indeed, made a particular point of complementing Rashid, whose own Ashes hopes have lately soared.
So much so it seems far more likely than unlikely that the leg-spinner will feature in at least one of the Tests, despite his unspectacular form for Yorkshire this summer.
The future for Vaughan, however, could well be less promising.
England's most successful captain is desperate to play for his country again and still maintains he can do a job for the team.
The question is: do the selectors believe him?
Yorkshire return to Twenty20 Cup action tonight when they play Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge (5.40pm start).
The county are second in the North Division after four victories in their opening six games and, after a break for four-day action, will probably need a minimum of two wins from their final four matches to reach the quarter-finals.
Yorkshire play Durham at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday and then Leicestershire at Grace Road on Friday before rounding off their group campaign against Derbyshire at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Sunday 12 February 2012
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