Michael Vaughan to quit

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has confirmed to a friend he will retire from all forms of cricket. The 34-year-old has called a news conference on Tuesday, when he is expected to call time on his career.

Ex-county team-mate Paul Grayson, now coach at Essex, said Vaughan had become disillusioned with four-day cricket. "You have to be really motivated to play county cricket and he felt he did not have the motivation to keep going," Grayson told BBC Sport.

Vaughan led England to Ashes glory in 2005 and is their most successful Test captain, but missed out on selection for the training squad for the 2009 series. And his omission from Yorkshire's squad for their Twenty20 match against Derbyshire on Sunday prompted Vaughan to discuss his future with the county.

Although he plays for Yorkshire, Vaughan is still under the control of a 12-month England and Wales Cricket Board central contract until the end of the summer.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We agreed with the ECB we would give Michael every opportunity to get selected for the Ashes squad.

VAUGHAN'S TEST CAREER
Tests: 82
Runs: 5,719
Average: 41.44
Centuries: 18
Fifties: 18
Highest: 197
Balls bowled: 978
Wickets: 6
Bowling Ave: 93.50

"When that didn't happen I think it then opened up a different set of thought processes over what happens next. He will discuss his future with his employers tomorrow and a press conference will be held on Tuesday." He continued: "Michael is employed by the ECB so he is unable to comment until after he has spoken to them and formalised the situation."

Regan insisted that Vaughan agreed with the decision to leave him out of the Yorkshire side. He added: "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."

Grayson said the emergence of a talented crop of young players at Headingley prompted Vaughan to consider his county future. "He said it's the right time to go," said Grayson, who batted alongside Vaughan on his first-class debut against Lancashire in 1993.

"He said there are some good young players coming through at Yorkshire and he does not want to hold them back."

Six years after his Yorkshire debut, Vaughan won his first Test cap in South Africa where his first innings was a baptism of fire as he went to the wicket with England 2-2 and soon after 2-4. In 2002/3 he rose to the top of the Test batting rankings after hitting three centuries during the Ashes series in Australia and was appointed England one-day captain at the start of the summer.

By mid-summer he had taken on the Test captaincy too, following Nasser Hussain's decision to step down, and after securing a 2-2 draw with the combative South Africans, Vaughan's England won six successive series, culminating in the epic 2005 Ashes victory. He missed the return series down under in 2006/7 with a debilitating knee injury and England were whitewashed 5-0 under the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff.

Vaughan was back for the 2007 World Cup campaign but gave up the one-day captaincy after England's elimination. He hoped to stay in the team in both forms of the game but was never chosen for the one-day side again.

Vaughan remained in charge of the Test side and made a century against the West Indies in his first innings for 18 months in May 2007, and also scored hundreds in home series against India and New Zealand. But his form subsequently declined and in the 2008 home series against South Africa he only scored 40 runs in five innings, including two ducks.

In August, Vaughan resigned the captaincy in an emotional press conference after his 51st match in charge, a total exceeded only by Mike Atherton. His record of 26 Test victories is the highest by any England skipper.

He vowed to score runs in abundance for Yorkshire and again insisted he wanted to continue at international level as a batsman.But he was unable to regain sufficient form to earn a recall, scoring only 41 runs in four Championship matches, and was not selected for the tours of India or the West Indies last winter, although he was included in the performance programme squad that toured the sub-continent.

This season, he has scored only 147 runs for Yorkshire in seven Championship innings, with a top score of 43 and with no apparent hope of an England return, may now opt to bring the curtain down on his career.

Vaughan's former England colleague, now a national selector, Ashley Giles, said Vaughan would leave a huge void if he did opt to call a halt to his playing career.
"I've heard nothing personally and we haven't as selectors, but it would be massive news," he said. "Vaughany's been a great servant to cricket, a good friend of mine and great player for England and a great captain so it would be a loss to the game but I'm sure he'd have plenty of options if that's what he decides to do.

"He treated everyone as a individual and believed that guys should express themselves and not have the fear of failure and gave us all a bucket load of confidence.

"It was crucial that everyone who came into the side felt comfortable, almost loved, and that way you go out and play your best cricket."


Jardine Verdict: Simple really, he was great batsman and a superb skipper. England cricket will be poorer for his retirement. 'Nuff said.

Bell end?

The England selectors have left batsmen Owais Shah, Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan and fast bowler Steve Harmison out of the squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord's.

The impact of this bold approach means that erstwhile number 6 and 20/20 slogger Ravi Bopara is set to take on the vital number three role. Something that should fill any England supporters heart with a small amount of concern. Bell was intriguingly overlooked despite clattering a couple of early season centuries, suggesting that England really do have concerns about him. Former skipper and “saviour of English cricket”™ Vaughan had only managed to notch runs in a 50 over game and selectors are looking for him to make a couple of big scores. The problem is that Vaughan’s test average is far superior to his county average and not unlike previous England number 3 David Gower he quite obviously relishes the big match atmosphere of the Test arena, rather than the humdrum task of smashing county bowlers to all parts of the ground.

In addition uncapped seamers Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions are surprise inclusions and they should provide adequate support for James Anderson and Stuart Broad. However, their selection highlights the very real need to get FF and Sidebottom back in the side. Fortunately England have resisted calling up Saj Mahmood and Matthew Hoggard which even in reliable old, shaggy old Hoggard’s case would have been a retrograde step.

Chairman of selectors Geoff Miller exclaimed: "This is very exciting for the two young fast bowlers to be included in the squad for a Lord's Test match and sends a message to all county players that if they put in consistently good performances they will get recognised. They have earned their place in the party."

Elsewhere in the squad Matt Prior keeps his place as wicketkeeper and is likely to bat at six at Lord's, which given Sussex’s use of him as an opener or number 4 will not be a stretch for the bald stumper. Chris Broad’s son or possibly newcomer Bresnan, who has hit three first-class centuries, will therefore be going in at number seven.

Monty ‘Monty’ Panesar and Graeme Swann are both in the squad but only one is likely to play in the first Test, with Swann appearing quite clearly to be in pole position. He was England's leading wicket-taker in the series in the West Indies earlier this year, with 19 victims at a very impressive cost of only 24 runs each. Despite the facts staring him in the eyes the lugubrious Miller stated: "We know where we stand, it was proven in the West Indies, but there's not a number one England spinner." A statement that could be read one of three ways 1) a reminder to Swann to keep on the straight and narrow, 2) a subtle arm around Monty ‘Monty’ or 3) he is already modelling his tenure in the Chairman’s role on Lord Ted Dexter.

England squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Chris Broad’s son, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Graham Onions, Monty ‘Monty’ Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.

Jardine’s Verdict: Bold moves on the bowling front highlight paucity of options. Bopara at number three? Surely just keeping the number 3 spot warm for Vaughany. Who only needs to hit a couple square of the wicket to get the Ashes call up!