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Video tributes: Ashes hero Michael Vaughan set to end career
AFTER a career which saw him top the world rankings and memorably lead England to Ashes glory, Yorkshire's Michael Vaughan is expected to announce his retirement from cricket tomorrow.
A chronic knee injury, loss of form and loss of his England place have all contributed to Vaughan's decision to call it a day amid speculation that he might now move into the commentary box.
The former England captain, 34, had hoped to feature in the side attempting to regain the Ashes this summer but he has been unable to reclaim his place after a poor start to the summer.
Speculation surrounding his future intensified yesterday, prompting Vaughan to meet with Yorkshire officials and he was then left out of the Twenty20 Cup match against Derbyshire at Headingley. Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "The plan was for him to play but given the news we discussed the situation and felt all the hype and speculation going on wouldn't have been in the team's interests."
That decision means Vaughan has probably now played his last game at the top level – a disappointment to the many fans of England's most graceful batsman in a generation.
Vaughan, who played 82 Tests, scoring 5,719 runs and 18 centuries, will be best remembered for masterminding the 2005 Ashes win.
The England and Wales Cricket Board, with whom Vaughan still retains a central contract, confirmed an announcement would be made tomorrow.
Former England captain now expected to take up TV spot
THERE was no special send-off, no final salute to the crowd.
Michael Vaughan's Yorkshire career ended yesterday with a whimper rather than a bang, and with more than a hint of disagreement between player and club.
After news of his impending retirement from first-class cricket had broken in the Sunday newspaper for which Vaughan is a columnist, the former England captain met club officials yesterday ahead of the Twenty20 Cup game against Derbyshire at Headingley Carnegie.
It is understood Vaughan – who was withdrawn from the match at the 11th hour – wanted to carry on playing the odd one-day fixture between now and the end of the summer but was told by Yorkshire this was not possible.
The idea that Vaughan could somehow pick and choose his games was rightly perceived as anathema.
Yorkshire stood their ground – and were unquestionably right to do so.
Although the news of Vaughan's retirement had already broken, neither the player nor Yorkshire were in a position to confirm its veracity on a day that plumbed the depths of farce.
As an employee of the England and Wales Cricket Board, to whom he remains centrally-contracted, Vaughan declined to make a public comment until he had discussed the matter formally with the ECB today.
Instead he will officially announce his retirement tomorrow during an ECB press conference at Edgbaston at 11.30am, although they might as well hold a press conference in America to announce that the pop star Michael Jackson has died.
The perception that a clean break will be in both Vaughan's and Yorkshire's best interests was impossible to suppress on a day when rumours intensified that Vaughan is about to become part of Sky's commentary team for the forthcoming Ashes series, although I understand no official approach has yet been made by the television company.
Stewart Regan, Yorkshire's chief executive, declined to discuss details of the club's discussions with Vaughan or confirm whether the player had actually retired.
But he admitted the decision that Vaughan would not play against Derbyshire had been taken because of the fixture's importance to Yorkshire's hopes of qualifying for next year's P20 competition – a target they failed to achieve after slipping to a miserable 37-run defeat that saw them finish second-bottom of their group.
Explaining Vaughan's omission, Regan said: "It was an important match for us and it was felt by all concerned that it would be in everyone's best interests if Michael didn't play.
"The plan was for Michael to play but, given the news which had come out overnight, we felt that with all the hype and speculation and everything going on, it wouldn't be in the team's best interests.
"Myself, Martyn Moxon, the captain Anthony McGrath and Michael took the decision that he would not play.
"Michael had intimated on several occasions he was thinking of calling it a day and there had been speculation for several days.
"Given that the speculation had gathered momentum, we all agreed to get together to decide the best way forward."
Vaughan's decision to call time on his career followed his exclusion from England's 16-man Ashes squad which was announced last week.
The former England captain, 34, was left out on grounds of poor form having scored only 147 runs in seven County Championship innings this season but still believed he could play an important part in England's quest to regain the Ashes.
Although few disagreed with Vaughan's omission, the episode highlighted the crass nature of England's decision to award him a central contract in the first place – a decision that ultimately did him few favours, apart from financially.
When Vaughan resigned as England captain last August, he stressed he wanted to keep playing for Yorkshire.
But a continued lack of form allied to ongoing problems in his troublesome right knee meant his place in the Championship side could no longer be justified, with the player potentially blocking the progress of up-and-coming batsmen such as Adam Lyth and Jonathan Bairstow.
Vaughan remained at Headingley yesterday following his meeting with the Yorkshire hierarchy and refereed a pre-match game of football involving the Yorkshire players before the cricket got under way.
He watched the cricket on the players' balcony surrounded by members of his family but cut a slightly forlorn figure as the action unfolded.
Vaughan bows out of first-class cricket having scored 16,295 runs at 36.95 with 42 centuries and was statistically England's most successful Test captain, with 26 wins from 51 games.
The undisputed highlight of his career was the Ashes triumph of 2005, while he was the world's No 1 batsman in 2003.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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