Michael Vaughan Falls Cheaply in First Search for Runs
Michael Vaughan was dismissed by a novice for 12 at Lord's but will probably still make the Test squad
So that is it then. Michael Vaughan has had his chance to influence the England selectors ahead of the squad announcement for the first Test of the summer, against West Indies at Lord's on 6 May. It amounts to this: MP Vaughan 12 v Durham, April 12, dismissed by Mitchell Claydon, a rookie in only his seventh first-class match. There is no need to analyze a computer print-out.
Geoff Miller, the England chairman of selectors, has stated his preference for a large Test squad to be named as early as next weekend and he will no doubt get his wish. By then Andy Flower's inevitable accession as England team director should have been announced and Paul Collingwood could have agreed, with reservations, to captain England in the World Twenty20. But Vaughan, a former England captain trying to feel his way back in time for the upcoming Ashes, will still not have strapped on the pads for Yorkshire. The likelihood is that he will get into an over sized squad as a gesture of faith but breaking into the team will demand runs, beginning with a championship match against the same opponents, Durham, at The Riverside on 22 April.
Vaughan's dismissal yesterday playing for MCC was exasperating enough to encourage a quick and brooding exit from Lord's. He fell to an Australian-born pace bowler, so at a stretch it could be interpreted as the first act in the Ashes phony war, were it not for the fact that Claydon is not only English-qualified but also a former Yorkshire team-mate.
"I'm English, I've spent the last seven summers here," Claydon said. "We had a bit of a giggle about it at the end."
Vaughan's footwork had looked orderly enough during his 47 minutes at the crease, with Callum Thorp and Claydon square cut for boundaries. The fourth ball of Claydon's first over begged for identical punishment but it bounced a bit and Vaughan edged it to the wicketkeeper.
Claydon classified his 11th first-class wicket as his biggest. "It's not the way I would have liked to have got him out – short and wide – but it will do for now," he said. "I had a plan to pitch it up and try to knock him over that way. He is a class act. I'm sure that Australia would rather face England with him not in the side."
Vaughan was warned of Claydon's threat the first time he batted against him in the Yorkshire nets. Claydon recalled: "At the first training session he whipped one off his legs for a single and said, 'That's one.' I thought he had said 'Give me one', so I slipped him a bouncer. He wasn't expecting that."
Miller was not present to watch Vaughan's demise but the selector James Whitaker was. Since Vaughan resigned from the England captaincy midway through last summer it has invariably been Whitaker who has been there on the bad days. Vaughan must already regard him as a harbinger of doom.
To face Durham's powerful pace attack, which should include Steve Harmison, at The Riverside later this month will be a true test of Vaughan's mettle.
"At Headingley last summer he batted brilliantly against us, it was Vaughan versus Harmison for a while," said Geoff Cook, Durham's director of cricket. "I'm sure it will be another great contest."
Durham, a good bet to retain their title, have had a satisfying time, weather interruptions notwithstanding. The Australian Thorp stood out with four for 15, including the dismissal of Stephen Moore with one that left him sharply. But it was Claydon's short, wide ball that had the biggest impact of all.
Geoff Miller, the England chairman of selectors, has stated his preference for a large Test squad to be named as early as next weekend and he will no doubt get his wish. By then Andy Flower's inevitable accession as England team director should have been announced and Paul Collingwood could have agreed, with reservations, to captain England in the World Twenty20. But Vaughan, a former England captain trying to feel his way back in time for the upcoming Ashes, will still not have strapped on the pads for Yorkshire. The likelihood is that he will get into an over sized squad as a gesture of faith but breaking into the team will demand runs, beginning with a championship match against the same opponents, Durham, at The Riverside on 22 April.
Vaughan's dismissal yesterday playing for MCC was exasperating enough to encourage a quick and brooding exit from Lord's. He fell to an Australian-born pace bowler, so at a stretch it could be interpreted as the first act in the Ashes phony war, were it not for the fact that Claydon is not only English-qualified but also a former Yorkshire team-mate.
"I'm English, I've spent the last seven summers here," Claydon said. "We had a bit of a giggle about it at the end."
Vaughan's footwork had looked orderly enough during his 47 minutes at the crease, with Callum Thorp and Claydon square cut for boundaries. The fourth ball of Claydon's first over begged for identical punishment but it bounced a bit and Vaughan edged it to the wicketkeeper.
Claydon classified his 11th first-class wicket as his biggest. "It's not the way I would have liked to have got him out – short and wide – but it will do for now," he said. "I had a plan to pitch it up and try to knock him over that way. He is a class act. I'm sure that Australia would rather face England with him not in the side."
Vaughan was warned of Claydon's threat the first time he batted against him in the Yorkshire nets. Claydon recalled: "At the first training session he whipped one off his legs for a single and said, 'That's one.' I thought he had said 'Give me one', so I slipped him a bouncer. He wasn't expecting that."
Miller was not present to watch Vaughan's demise but the selector James Whitaker was. Since Vaughan resigned from the England captaincy midway through last summer it has invariably been Whitaker who has been there on the bad days. Vaughan must already regard him as a harbinger of doom.
To face Durham's powerful pace attack, which should include Steve Harmison, at The Riverside later this month will be a true test of Vaughan's mettle.
"At Headingley last summer he batted brilliantly against us, it was Vaughan versus Harmison for a while," said Geoff Cook, Durham's director of cricket. "I'm sure it will be another great contest."
Durham, a good bet to retain their title, have had a satisfying time, weather interruptions notwithstanding. The Australian Thorp stood out with four for 15, including the dismissal of Stephen Moore with one that left him sharply. But it was Claydon's short, wide ball that had the biggest impact of all.
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