Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan

Michael Paul Vaughan OBE (born 29 October 1974 in Manchester) is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries. Vaughan was an opening batsman and forged a successful England partnership with Marcus Trescothick, though he had often batted in the middle order for England. He was the captain of the England team when they regained the Ashes in 2005, eighteen years after having last won the trophy.

Known for his shrewd captaincy and man-management skills, Vaughan captained England in 51 Tests between 2003 and 2008, winning 26 (a national record) and losing 11; England won all seven home Tests of the 2004 summer under Vaughan, and the pinnacle of his captaincy career came with a 2–1 victory in the 2005 Ashes, England's first Ashes victory since 1986/7. However, a recurring knee injury, his decision to move down the batting order to accommodate other openers (Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook) and the pressures of captaincy took their toll on Vaughan's batting during the latter part of his career: in Tests he averaged 50.95 when not captain, and 36.02 as captain. Vaughan announced his retirement from first-class cricket on 30 June 2009.