Cooky won’t crumble and Jimmy can swing it England’s way, says Vaughan

MICHAEL VAUGHAN believes Alastair Cook and James Anderson are the men who can inspireEngland to regain the Ashes. While most pundits focus on Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff as England’s main men, Vaughan is convinced opening batsman Cook and quick bowler Anderson are set to play starring roles this summer.

Going into the first Test in Cardiff, which starts this morning, England’s former opener and triumphant 2005 captain said: ‘I fancy Alastair Cook to hit the most 50s for England in the series.

‘In 2005, when we won the Ashes, there were 18 England 50s, so hopefully Cooky and the boys will wrack them up this summer. ‘Cook and Anderson are both ready to move on to the next level after establishing themselves in the Test arena. ‘Jimmy has had a wonderful 12 months developing his swing while Cooky has been quietly getting on with his business. ‘A lot will depend on how he [Cook] faces Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark with that new ball. Clark troubled him in 06-07 but Cooky’s a very quick learner, he works things out and I think he’ll rise to the challenge and play his own brand of consistent cricket.’ Many say Cook is a future England captain but Vaughan does not believe the label is fair. ‘The England captain is Andrew Strauss and he has just started to roll with that position,’ he added.

‘When he finally decides it is time to step down Alastair Cook may very well be one of the candidates but it will go to the best person at the time. You don’t need to tag any young player like that, they just need to carry on with their job of scoring runs or taking wickets.’ Vaughan feels it will be a close series and warns it will be a mistake to write off the tourists because they have lost so many players to retirement.

‘They haven’t got a [Shane] Warne or [Glenn] McGrath in their ranks but they are a good team unit,’ he added. ‘They’ve changed the way they play and are very competitive so England need to get off to a good start.’ And he warned: ‘In 1989 Allan Border brought a young team here and everyone wrote them off, so dismiss Australia at your peril.’ As for the end result, Vaughan thinks Strauss’ men will edge it and said: ‘I can see it being close but England can win 2-0 or 2-1 as long as they take the chances.’

I’ll walk away with no regrets, says Vaughan

MICHAEL VAUGHAN joked being bowled by his three-year-old son was enough to tell him it as the right time to retire from cricket. The former England captain, 34, yesterday at Edgbaston called time – as expected – on a glittering career that stretched back almost 17 years.

Vaughan pointed to his stewardship of the 2005 Ashes triumph against Australia as the highlight of his time in the sport. But having been overlooked for this summer’s series against Australia he feels the time is right to walk away. Vaughan said: ‘It’s been a hard decision.

‘My decision came two weeks ago at Worcester. I just started to realise there are younger players around that need to be given the chance to move the game forward. I’ve given it my best shot. I wanted to give it one last,hard effort to try to get into the Ashes squad. But I haven’t been playing well enough. ‘And I guess two weeks ago when in the garden with my little lad Archie,he bowled a ball, it hit a weed and it knocked my off stump out of the ground. I think that was the time; if a three-year-old is bowling me out, then it’s time to move over.’

Headded: ‘I’d like to be remembered as someone who gave my all. I don’t think I’ve left anything out there, I have no regrets.’ Current England captain Andrew Strauss said: ‘His achievements can’t be underestimated, the way he took the team forward, the relaxed way he was able to get us playing cricket.’