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by
Rory Dollard
Yorkshire
have a well earned reputation as not only one of the fiercest competitors
on the county cricket circuit but also as one of the foremost contributors
to the England team.
Although
many of its favourite sons, including Darren Gough and Fred Trueman,
are pace bowlers the county's association with world class openers
is equally as strong.
The
names Sutcliffe, Hutton and Boycott are etched permanently into
the psyche of any student of the game and now our generation has
a man to call their own, a man whose talents if used well could
match or even better the names above.
Step
up Michael Vaughan.
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| Michael
Vaughan celebrating yet another century |
Vaughan
has been somewhat of a revelation in recent years, after coming
into the England side in 1999 with a good reputation but a modest
average at first class level his place was uncertain and he frequently
batted out of position in the middle order.
Despite
this, and an unlucky knack for injury he retained his spot in the
national set-up and was rewarded with a coveted central contract
in 2000.
A well
timed 64 not out to help overturn a strong South African side in
the Centurion Test gained Vaughan many fans and it soon became apparent
that when Michael Atherton, the linchpin of the side for at least
a decade, retired, it would be the Yorkshireman who would inherit
his mantle.
Numerous
other openers had been tried for this role but how many would have
responded in the way Vaughan has?
In
2002 alone he was fleetingly the top run scorer in Test cricket
(before being overtaken by Sachin Tendulkar), he scored four centuries
in an inspired summer against Sri Lanka and India, improved his
average from the early 30s to the truly world class 47.50 and is
being touted as the next England captain.
The
future could hold anything for this gifted player who after only
23 Test matches has already proved himself to be a player whose
coolness and concentration are as keenly trained as his eye.
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