England will certainly miss his unflappable leadership and exquisite stroke play, though having said that, they've had to cope without him for a while now. Injuries beset him directly after that famous Ashes triumph in 2005 as he missed the best part of 18 months. And when he did come back into the side, he lasted only another year before poor form led him to resigning the captaincy after the Third Test against South Africa - it was to be his last appearance in an England shirt.
Still, as sad as it is to bid farewell to one of England's finest, it's best to fondly reminisce at times like this. Vaughan's batting was wonderful to watch; very few players could time the ball like he did.
Several innings spring to mind. The 166 against Australia at Old Trafford in '05 came at a time when people were casting doubts over his form and it smacked of him stamping his considerable authority all over the series. Then that comeback hundred in 2007 on his home ground of Headingley against the West Indies. Having missed so much cricket due to injury, it was a relief just to get him back in the side. The over-zealous bear hug that Kevin Pietersen gave him upon reaching three figures was an indication of what his return meant to the team.
For me, two innings stand out. The first came in South Africa in early 2005 in the Fourth Test at Johannesburg. With the series level at 1-1 and England into their tail in the first innings, Vaughan dug in for his team and added 133 with the help of Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison, taking England from 278-7 to the riches of 411-8. He was on 82 not out when persistent bad weather ended the second day's play. Rather than waste time trying to reach a hundred, Vaughan declared, putting the team ahead of his own personal glory. England went on to win the game late on the last day, further vindicating Vaughan's choice and the timing of it.
The second was at Trent Bridge in 2007 against a rampant Indian side. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh had decimated England in the first innings before India built a size-able lead with the bat. England batted in the second innings knowing they'd need a gargantuan total to even have a chance in the match and against a dangerously swinging ball and some fine Indian bowling, batting was seriously tough. Vaughan produced another superb captain's innings, making 124 and taking England just into the lead. He was out in painfully unlucky circumstances, the ball clipping his upper thigh and rolling gently down onto the base of leg stump, just forcing the bail off. England subsequently collapsed and lost the game but Vaughan, as always, had done his utmost to lead from the front.
England have had to do without Vaughan for sometime now so any talk of a fresh start is redundant. He'll certainly be watching this forthcoming Ashes contest with great interest but purely as a spectator and fan, not a worried player. A career in coaching or possibly even commentary must surely await now for him - one can only hope that the game of cricket has more in store for this fine, fine player.
I'll end with a quote from the man himself, given in the immediate aftermath of probably his finest moment as England captain - the two run win over Australia at Edgbaston.
“I'm thrilled. I'm proud of this
team. If we'd gone 2-0 down in the series, against a team like Australia, we
couldn't have come back from there.”
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