Kevin Pietersen has got his way again. Maybe not as directly as persuading Steve Harmison out of one-day retirement or putting Andrew Flintoff at No. 6, but Michael Vaughan’s 12-month central contract has the stamp of KP all over it
Andrew McGlashan at Lord's09-Sep-2008
Michael Vaughan: still in with a chance of an Ashes berth next summer © Getty Images
Kevin Pietersen has got his way again. Maybe not as directly as persuading Steve Harmison out of one-day retirement or putting Andrew Flintoff at No. 6, but Michael Vaughan’s 12-month central contract has the stamp of KP all over it. They are great mates, and Pietersen wants to do all he can to have Vaughan back in the Test side when Australia arrive next summer.Geoff Miller, England’s national selector, insisted the final decision over Vaughan was down to him and his panel, but admitted Pietersen had never been far away from the discussion. “He said he would very much like Michael in the team,” Miller said. “We made the decision, but we talked to Kevin about most things and he’s quite happy with that decision.””We’ve got a lot of Test cricket in the near future and we see Michael as a vital member of the side,” Miller added. “We know what his qualities are and if he is playing well Michael is a vital part of the team. We’ve got some big series coming up and the Ashes in the not-too-distant future. Michael’s done very well in winning the Ashes so he’ll be an integral part of that side.”So the ECB will pay Vaughan’s hefty salary for the next year, yet there is no guarantee that he will rekindle his batting form. The early signs have not been promising; scores of 10, 0 and 19 in his three innings since returning from a post-resignation break. However, the way that Miller was talking suggests that Vaughan is very close to their thoughts for the India Test tour, the squad for which will be named on September 29, two days after the season finishes. He may not even have to score heavily in his final two matches.”We’ll monitor that. It’s not over-relevant because we know what Michael is capable of doing,” Miller said. “Yes, it would help his cause if he was going on a tour in some kind of form, but we know what he’s capable of and I have no hesitation in knowing that he will get through this sticky patch.”On one hand that’s a huge vote of confidence in someone whose Test average has slipped by nearly 10 runs from the high point of 50.98 that he reached in 2003 – after rising to No. 1 in the world against Australia. At the same time it’s a bit of an indictment of the batting talent coming through. Of the seven incremental contracts handed out, only one – Owais Shah – is a specialist batsman. Looking around the counties there are not many other convincing cases being made, with the Kent pair of Robert Key and Joe Denly probably the next in line.”We’ve got a lot of players trying to get in and we’ll monitor that,” Miller said confidently. “We are looking forward, we continually look forward. There’s consistency and we are looking ahead as well. I want players in that side who merit an England place and until they do they’ll keep knocking. In form, Michael Vaughan is a quality player, but there are others too.”There is a precedent for the path England are taking with Vaughan. Last year Andrew Strauss was handed a full contract then subsequently left out for the Sri Lanka Tests. Instead he went off and played state cricket in New Zealand before being recalled for the tour of that country. In the nick of time he hit 177 at Napier and went on to be Man of the Series in the return contest in England.It is a possible route for Vaughan. Leave him out against India, send him to find some cricket with the view of a possible recall against West Indies. “It could well happen, but we have all options available,” Miller said. “There is a performance squad running parallel in India, but I’m hoping he gets his game together and gets in the side.”But while Vaughan can breathe a sigh of relief that he has the chance of a second coming, spare a thought for Matthew Hoggard. In the space of seven months he has gone from England’s new-ball bowler to nowhere. It’s certainly a show of ruthlessness from the selectors – and the current attack is shaping up strongly with the fresh and fit faces – but it doesn’t always seem to run both ways.”It’s disappointing for Matthew,” Miller said. “We had to go and have a chat with him and said we have strength in depth with seamers. He’s not out of the picture completely and we told him that as well.” However, his route back, if there is one, doesn’t come with an ECB safety blanket. It really is a batsman’s game.Central contracts James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan.Increment contracts Tim Ambrose, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.
