LONDON: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has said he is ready to return to international cricket after a spell on the sidelines since standing down as skipper in August.
The 34-year-old Yorkshire batsman is currently in India, not with the main touring party led by Kevin Pietersen but as a member of England’s second-tier performance squad. Vaughan managed scores of two, nought, 21, nought and 17 during England’s Test series defeat at home to South Africa before relinquishing the captaincy.
A break from cricket did not lead to an upturn in his fortunes when he came back, with Vaughan managing just 10, nought and 19 in his next three innings for his county. Despite being awarded an England central contract Vaughan, who has not played in a one-day international since last year’s World Cup in the Caribbean, was omitted from the India tour squad.
Vaughan, who led England to Ashes glory in 2005, is convinced the break has done him good and, with Australia in England next year, is adamant he still has a future as an international player.
“I’m centrally contracted, I’m out here in India, I believe I’ve got a great opportunity to get back in if I get my form right,” he told BBC Radio Five Live on Monday. “I feel that with the state of mind that I’m in, I will get that right.”
He added: “Over the last two or three months I’ve tried to clear my mind of all the issues I felt were disturbing my game and I feel in a great position to go out there, play cricket and enjoy the challenges which being an international player brings.
“I’ve had five-and-a-half years as captain and I feel I contributed more as a leader than as a player. “I want to get back to contributing as a good player who can hopefully score plenty of runs,” added Vaughan, who at his peak was one of the best batsmen in the world.
England, currently 4-0 down, have three more matches left in their One-day International series with India before taking on MS Dhoni’s men in two Tests. Although Vaughan could be called up in India, he is likely to have a better chance of being selected in England squad for the tour of the West Indies due to start in January. In 82 Tests, Vaughan has scored 5,719 runs, including 18 hundreds at an average of just over 41.
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Vaughan ready for England return
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