Ashes Bet

All eyes will be on former England captain Michael Vaughan this week as he begins his bid to regain his place in the England side ahead of the Ashes in July. Vaughan will represent the MCC against the English county champions Durham, in the traditional curtain to the English season at Lords on Friday.

What does Vaughan need to do to get back in the England side?
The equation for Vaughan is simply to score as many runs as possible. It is noticeable over the past 18 months that Vaughan’s form has dipped noticeably. This can, of course, be related directly to the pressure’s Vaughan felt as the England captain and the injuries that Vaughan suffered stopped him from finding a batting rhythm. However with the pressure of captaincy lifted and lingering injury concerns lessened Vaughan should be able to revitalise his career.

Do England still need Vaughan?
Andrew Strauss, the current England captain, said earlier this month that he was certain of 9 out of the 11 positions for the first test against Australia in July.

On current form one of the two positions still up for grabs is the number three slot in the batting line-up.

Owais Shah has failed to carry over his form in the one day international arena into the Test Arena. Granted he has only had four matches to try and settle in the side but throughout the series against the West Indies Shah struggled to assert his authority on the game. An authority which is an absolute must if a player is to excel in the number three slot. By recording an average of just 22.16 in the series recent West Indies series, Shah has already opened the door for the likes of Vaughan to fight for the position. Shah also offers very little in the field and this may be a factor when deciding whether he has a place in the England test team.

Similarly Ian Bell’s recent form in the Test side saw him dropped for the national team in favour of Strauss. Much like Vaughan, Bell will aim to score as many runs in the early part of the season and force his way into the selectors’ thoughts. Though Bell always looks a beautiful batsman his failure to convert 30’s and 40’s into test match hundreds will probably cost Bell his place against Australia.

But the selectors may well turn to Vaughan as he is the batsmen, if in form, that the Australians will fear facing the most. Not only this but the mental toughness that Vaughan has shown throughout his career is something that the Aussies admire and respect. Bell and Shah, on the other hand, would appear sitting ducks to the Australians in the vital number three position. Vaughan may not offer much in the field but he would provide adaptability to the England batting line-up; as Vaughan could slot in between Alastair Cook and Strauss providing a useful right-left hand combination at the top of the order.

Overall then, if Vaughan scores enough runs in the early part of the season, Vaughan could well be back in an England shirt as early as the West Indies series in May. It is more likely, however, that Geoff Miller and the selectors will give Vaughan an extended run at Yorkshire to give him maximum opportunity to score runs. When we reach July, though, don’t be surprised to be seeing Vaughan trundle down the steps at the Swalec Stadium to take his place on the field against Australia.