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Do England have enough room to carry 'passenger' Vaughan?

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He's at it again! Paul Moon believes the time may be up for Michael Vaughan in the England set-up. So who should replace him? Read on...

I have on numerous occasions expressed my dismay at the way English cricket is administered, managed and captained through this column. I have always felt that we lack direction, backbone and moral fibre on and off the pitch. There is so much that is wrong I find it hard to know where to start!

Regarding matters on the pitch we need a little honesty about our own failings before we can proceed to put matters right. Michael Vaughan is the best captain and is safe for the next two years because there is no obvious successor to him, irrespective of his batting form he should lead us up to the 2009 Ashes Series.

Or should he? Should he really be captain if he has forgotten how to score runs? Is his batting form wavering or is it something worse? A good captain is a must, but it is a mistake to keep one who cannot hold down his England place on batting merit alone. I know we had a situation like that with Mike Brearley but this is 21st century sport, things are different now with no room for passengers.

Vaughan is a fine leader of men, his captaincy was an important part in delivering the Ashes success of 2005. The Yorkshireman has brought intelligence to the England team with a steadying influence. I particularly like his imaginative field placings and his intuitive touch when juggling his bowling resources. Fletcher may be right when he says that 'Vaughan is the only plausible England captain who can help them regain the Ashes' but giving open cheques creates cosiness, complacency and compromise.

He had a long lay-off with a knee injury that still requires careful management and is not certain to stay fit. Injuries have a habit of finding you out at the most inopportune time, in the lead up to the Ashes maybe? And it is conceivable that the captaincy has affected Vaughan's batting. He is playing with pre-meditated shots and not adapting to playing conditions. His denial of these facts is a concern for me!

In fact, I think Vaughan has been grossly over valued. His captaincy record is bolstered and underpinned by outside impacts like the central contracts, which allowed England an exclusive core of players - a revolution begun by Fletcher and Nasser Hussain.

He got lucky with the fixture list playing the worst West Indies team in history eight times in 2004 alone winning seven and drawing one. Playing New Zealand at home in between helped massage the figures further. Boris Johnson could have been skipper for those games and still won. His record against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is probably a true barometer of his success! Even the Ashes win had a lot to do with Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff reverse swinging the ball to the bewildered Aussies!

I know that I may be guilty of treason in some quarters but I would ask Vaughan to step aside with our thanks, removing his platitudes from our list of excuses. Sentiment must not stand in the way of progress. I would like the next captain to adopt a more ruthless approach. First, get the side into physical condition and be mentally mean, contesting every ball in every session on every day. Get at the opposition's throat and stay there - after all there is nothing wrong with copying the Australian template.

Ebullient Kevin Pietersen is the only cricketer on the landscape who possesses these components. I would give him his head now so that he can prepare for the Ashes next year. Ponting said: " He might develop into the next superstar of world cricket, potentially he's that good".

It is a big 'might' but our captain cupboard is bare! Can he replace mindless recklessness with his batting to an aggressive measured approach - I am not sure but in my eyes it is the only game in town!

Examining the team further in an effort to unravel a captain in waiting I see zilch. Scratchy Ian Bell continues to look nervous with his own game let alone leading the rest of the team. He lacks forcefulness. Judged as a star in his youth and early career you sense he has been found out. His label of not being able to convert starts is becoming a worry and I believe he short of top class. Clearly he lacks character or charisma to make captain material.

Alistair Cook has been ear marked as a future captain with some rave reviews but his Australian and New Zealand tours abruptly knocked him backwards after a marvellous start to a career. I would like him to be more positive as an individual and kick on with his personal form. My impression is he needs to mature and toughen up - and quick. He needs big centuries this summer and the word captain should not be whispered in his presence.

Paul Collingwood could never be considered a Test captain, he has no real class. He has to constantly cement himself in the Test side just as a player. A wholehearted cricketer he has made the most of himself and has already achieved more than he dared hope for. He is two classes down from the optimum level and would represent a muddle appointment and after the larrykin Flintoff and confused Strauss shenanigans, we dare not go down that road again!

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