Captain's comeback: Take Three

Andrew McGlashan at Gatwick

March 1, 2007

Lights, camera, action and take three for Michael Vaughan's return as England captain - and that's just this winter's count. As he gave his pre-departure press conference in a plush Gatwick Airport hotel there was a distinct feeling that we'd seen all this before.

Already this winter Vaughan has made two attempts to come back from injury, and on both occasions he has had to abort soon afterwards. In Hobart against New Zealand his left hamstring gave way in the field, while his return later in the tournament, against New Zealand at Brisbane, ended after one match.

However, Vaughan appeared relaxed and confident about his chances of surviving England's entire World Cup campaign - whatever length that turns out to be. He will line up against Bermuda on Monday "as long as I get off the plane and don't trip down the steps" although he won't take part in the full 100 overs. "The knee is fine," he said, "I know a lot of you think it isn't but it's fine and that's the real positive of the spell I had in Australia."

There are still mutterings that Vaughan should have saved himself for Test cricket rather than return in the helter-skelter world of the one-day arena, but for too long England's one-day cricket has lived in the shadow of their Test performances. Regardless of the long-term impacts of his decision, Vaughan's determination to lead his side in the World Cup should at least rub off on his team-mates.

And along with his knee and hamstring, Vaughan's sense of humour appears to be in fine fettle as well. Asked if any of his team would consider taking such drastic action as Jacob Oram, who has threatened to amputate his broken finger, Vaughan said: "I've considered removing my left hamstring once or twice, but it just goes to show how important the World Cup is to the players. And it must mean a lot to Oram."

Just as there had been when Vaughan gave his original comeback press conference in Sydney, there was a calm confidence about what he was saying. He may have missed the two CB finals but the boost those results handed to the squad is evident. Players, and partners, were milling around the hotel lobby happily posing for photos and collecting their last little bits of sponsored gear. Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara tried on new sunglasses while Paul Collingwood collected signatures on an old England shirt, no doubt for his Durham benefit year.

But holding court - with his popstar fianc饠- was Kevin Pietersen and, along with James Anderson, they will unquestionably strengthen the England side. "It's great to have Kevin back and he does add a great deal to our batting in the middle period," said Vaughan. "He's our best one-day player and I'm looking forward to seeing him on some small grounds."

England sunk to such depths in Australia, with their back-to-back debacles in Adelaide the absolute nadir, that even Canada and Kenya were thought to be fancying their chances of an upset. Now, however, the vibes are very different.

"The dark horses from six weeks ago are us," Vaughan said when pressed for names. "This World Cup is wide open for one of the top eight teams to go on and win it. It'll be the sides who get used to the conditions who will do well."

Vaughan played down the suggestion that he needed a successful World Cup for the sake of his own career and, as is the case with this England set-up, the emphasis was squarely on the team.

"It's a great opportunity for all the players to get on the plane tomorrow, work very hard, and beat some good teams to see how far we can go in the tournament," he said. "If we get the momentum going and our gameplans right there's no reason why we can't go a long way."

So, when England board their flight at 11am tomorrow morning, Vaughan will lead a squad that firmly believes they can win the World Cup for the first time. What a difference a few weeks makes. Just mind those steps, guys.

Andrew McGlashan is editorial assistant of Cricinfo

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