England Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 03 August 2008 /

Edgbaston Test was almost certainly the last time we will see Michael Vaughan in an England shirt. Andrew Hughes assesses the contribution he made to English cricket over the last five years.

Yesterday lunchtime, a tearful Michael Vaughan resigned the England captaincy. In stepping down after an Edgbaston Test match against South Africa, there was a certain symmetry since these were the circumstances in which, five years before, a similarly emotional Nasser Hussain had handed the captaincy to him.

There can be no doubt that this was Vaughan's decision alone. He was copping his share of media flak, but most of that was aimed at his woeful batting form. His captaincy credentials were not seriously in question. Peter Moores certainly wanted him to stay until at least the end of next year's Ashes. And unlike Hussain, Vaughan had no credible rival. Such was his popularity; there was no question of his having lost the dressing room.

Instead, it seems that his captaincy has just reached the end of its shelf life. Compared to the string of victories on which he built his reputation, this series defeat against a solid but not world-beating South African team, added to last year's losses to India and Sri Lanka, must have hurt. Mental fatigue perhaps played a part too. At his press conference yesterday, Vaughan admitted that he had simply run out of steam.

He departs with a record few can match. The second longest-serving England captain of all time, he won over half of the 51 Tests in which he led his country, a record surpassed only by Mike Brearley in the post-war era. During his reign he led England to their first series win in the Caribbean since 1968, their first in South Africa since 1965 and their first Ashes win since 1987.

Some have said that he merely inherited a good team and reaped the rewards. It is true that the core of the Ashes winning side had gained their first caps before Vaughan became captain. It is also true that Hussain and Duncan Fletcher had done a lot of hard work in turning a woeful England team into a battling one.

But Vaughan took the team to a new level. Whereas his predecessor was an intense and demanding captain, often hard on his team, Vaughan was a natural at building team spirit. Just as Brearley had to harness a team containing the likes of Boycott and Botham, so Vaughan was able to get the best out of players like Harmison, Flintoff and Pietersen, individuals who might not have thrived under a less inclusive captain. On the field too, his calm demeanour encouraged confidence, his field-placings and tactical ploys were instinctive, innovative and never clichéd.

But over time, his strength as a team-builder had started to look suspiciously like a weakness. Though he was no soft touch as a captain, his continuing loyalty to a few individuals that had seen the same batting line-up survive three series defeats unscathed was attracting increasing criticism. Where the England hierarchy saw consistency of selection, outsiders sensed a comfort zone. Perhaps it simply got harder for a captain who wasn't contributing with the bat to make the ruthless decisions needed to freshen the team up.

There is little room for sentiment in Test cricket and, having excused himself from the final Test at the Oval, his prospects of further caps look bleak. Since his peak in 2003, when his average topped 50, he has been in steady decline. Since returning from injury last May, he averages 35 and, this summer, a touch above 22. Critics hint that this is no mere loss of form, but the beginning of the end. They talk about his creaking knees, his lack of foot movement and hint at a dulling of reflexes or even his eyesight. It is entirely possible that we have seen the last of Michael Vaughan as a Test cricketer.

Meanwhile, England and Peter Moores suddenly have an opportunity to make sweeping changes ahead of the final Test to gain a consolation victory over a jubilant South African team. If you think the Proteas will still be hungover come Thursday you can back England at [4.8] However, those who fear what Steyn and Morkel might be able to do on the bouncy Oval pitch can back the visitors for a 3-0 whitewash at [2.84] with the draw at [2.24].

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