London, September 14: Former captain Michael Vaughan is concerned over England’s latest downfall after the Ashes triumph, and has advised the current crop of players to learn to handle increased expectations in order to become the number one side in the world.
”When we’re winning, I worry,” Vaughan said.
”I really do. I see players not responding. It’s something in our nature. I don’t know why. We got hammered at Headingley but look at how we responded at the Oval. Why can’t we have that mentality every week? ”We’re very good in England at fighting back from adversity, we’re great at responding to criticism. But if we want to become the best team in the world, we have to learn to cope with expectation. Mentally, we have to be up for the next challenge. Relax in sport and it comes back and bites you on the a***,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The Times’.
Following their historic triumph in the Ashes series, England were given a rude wake-up call during the ongoing seven-match Natwest Series, after losing four consequtive ODI’s to Australia.
Reminiscing about the time when England won the Ashes series for the last time in 2005, in which a procession of injuries to the likes of Vaughan and Simon Jones, plus Marcus Trescothick’s depression, did not help to team’s cause, the Ashes-winning captain asserted, ”It wasn’t the players’ decision to go on the open-top bus ride.
”We were put on the bus and, while it seemed great at the time, it was OTT. ”There’s no question (that there was a hangover). But you have to understand it was such a big series, it had been an 18-year wait, we captured the entire country, 10 million viewers on Channel 4. We became famous after 2005 and so the front pages wanted to know more,” the former right-hander added.
However, he also spoke about the 2007 Ashes series which Australia clean seep 5-0 to avenge their last series loss to England.
The then captain Vaughan was being splashed across the tabloids during a night out in 2007. ”I was asleep on a bench outside a hotel in Manchester at half 10 – they said it was half 1 but it was half 10,” he said. ”That was a tricky time. I guess some people like reading that stuff. But once you win the Ashes, expectations are high and people expect more from you,” the 34-year-old added.
Vaughan, who has scored 5719 runs in his 82 Test-career, further feels the present team were aware of their new-found status and all that comes with it. ”They know the pitfalls. ”But they need to keep winning. Most people understand this Australian side was not a great one. The challenge on the tour to South Africa (starting in November) is the big one. We’ll beat Pakistan at home (next summer), whatever’s going on in the team, but South Africa will be not dissimilar conditions to Australia, they’ll be using the same ball, both sides will be very strong in batting. ”This is the ultimate challenge before the next Ashes and could be the start of this team being very, very good,” he felt.
With Vaughan and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff departing from the Test arena and Kevin Pietersen still recovering from an ankle surgery, the onus is now on a talent whose career has been untouched by fitness or disciplinary issues.
”How good is he?” Vaughan mused.
”He’d get in a world XI. Jonathan Trott has made a brilliant start and scores in similar areas to KP, but he may be a more stubborn version. He’s not got the eye candy but he could be a very consistent performer for England and that will drive KP on because he likes to be the big cheese, the No 1. ”By time he gets back playing, he’ll be itching to get the headlines for the right reasons, and he needs to see himself as a senior player now. He’s that good that he should be getting 150 regularly.
”He gets a lots of criticism when a lot of players are doing a lot worse and getting away with it.
”Take him out of the one-day side and the middle order looks very vulnerable,” he added.
——Agencies