Draw against SA reveals England's fighting spirit: Vaughan
London | Friday, Jan 8 2010 IST
 

Former captain Michael Vaughan was effusive in his praise for skipper Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower for the spirit they have created in England's dressing room, and said the national team has developed the potential of becoming the number one Test side.

''It was the third time in eight Tests that England have battled to a draw with nine wickets down, which says a lot about the spirit that Strauss and Flower have created in the dressing room,'' Vaughan said.

''This team is developing nicely and I think that they have got the potential to develop into the No 1 team in the world,'' he wrote in his column for 'The Daily Telegraph'. England yesterday rode on the tailenders' - Graeme Swann and Graham Onions - brilliant effort to escape defeat, forcing a draw with South Africa to stay a step ahead in the ongoing four-Test series. Vaughan expressed his belief that it needs more character to draw a match from a tight corner than to win it.

''I am a great believer that teams have to show more character when they are fighting for a draw than when they are going for a win - as England demonstrated by digging deep yet again in Cape Town,'' he stated. The 35-year-old, who in 2005 became the first capain to win an Ashes series since Mike Gatting in 1986-87, however, feels that the England team still has a long way to go in order to defend their crown at the five-match Test series in Australia next winter. ''There is some way to go yet. There are certainly areas that England need to improve on. Graeme Swann needs to continue to develop because good teams will probably play him better, they probably need a back-up seamer and the batsmen need to get bigger and more consistent runs. ''With Swann and Stuart Broad batting at eight and nine England really should be getting scores of 450 but they are still getting bowled out too cheaply,'' he stated.

The former right-hander hailed captain Strauss, who defeated the Australians in the last Ashes series, for the way he handles the team and the advises to delivers to his men to play their natural game.

However, Vaughan said Strauss would now have a tough task in hand to win the ongoing Test series in South Africa.

''Having won the Ashes last summer, Strauss now has a great opportunity to go on and win a series in South Africa. I was fortunate enough to do that and I know how difficult a task that is. ''As a captain he clearly has the respect of the team. He has a nice manner and an ability to deal with the media and he sends out strong messages to his players to go out and play their natural game. ''He is also a good man-manager. Tactically I haven't seen any wizardry, but he looks sound enough and he will get better the more he captains England,'' he opined.

England are now going to Johannesburg 1-0 up, a position, he feels, the national team owe to the spirit and character of Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood. ''Bell has been under pressure for a long time and has been criticised for not playing an important innings under pressure. But I felt that his was the stand-out performance of the batting unit.

He batted well in both innings and he now needs to box up that approach and reproduce it whenever he plays for England. ''We shouldn't underestimate Collingwood's part. He is the mental rock of this team and when he damaged his finger in Durban and it was suggested that he might not be fit to play in this Test I started to panic because he is the key to the side. ''He brings a lot of energy to the dressing room and the middle, and I hope he has also answered some of his critics,'' Vaughan added.

-- (UNI) -- 08SPD27.xml

 

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