Betfacts / Joe Dyer / 02 August 2008 / Leave a comment

England captain goes after Test series defeat to South Africa.

Michael Vaughan has quit as England captain after his side's Test series defeat to South Africa at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Vaughan will not play the fourth Test and speculation is already building over who replaces him as leader of the team. Kevin Pietersen is the likely favourite.

A market will go up on Betfair later this afternoon

The defeat left England 2-0 down in the series with just one game left to play.

But it could all have been so different had events taken a different turn on Saturday There were times on a fluctuating fourth day when victory seemed within the home team's grasp. And Betfair backers thought so too - with South Africa on the ropes at 93-4, chasing 280, Vaughan's men were backed at [1.33] to level the series.

But they could not force through into the lower order leaving Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher to guide South Africa home with a stand of 112. That will have delighted those who chanced it with a back of Smith's men at [8.6] on the morning of the first Test when Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook were making hay.

There was a similar story in the series market where England were backed at a low of [2.02] to win when making good early progress in the first Test at Lord's. South Africa were taken at a high of [3.45] in the market.

So where there was just pride to play for, the captaincy of England will now be on the line when the fourth Test gets underway at The Oval on Thursday.

Tags: Edgbaston, England, Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, South Africa, The Oval