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28-Jun-2009 17:58:00 GMT
England & Wales Cricket Board

Vaughan Set to Confirm Retirement on Tuesday

London: Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to announce his retirement from senior cricket on Tuesday. 

The Yorkshire batsman's future has been the subject of speculation ever since he was left out of England's Ashes training squad last week.

British newspaper reports on Sunday said his retirement was imminent and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) subsequently announced the 34-year-old Vaughan would hold a press conference at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

England are due to play Warwickshire in an Ashes warm-up match there on Wednesday.

It was at Edgbaston that Vaughan led England to a nailbiting two-run win over Australia four years ago.

It was a victory that helped England to a 2-1 Test series win over their oldest rivals and a first Ashes campaign victory since 1986/87.

That series was the high point of Vaughan's time in charge of England, with a persistent knee injury leaving him on the sidelines for months at a time.

Unsurprisingly, his form as a batsman - which had seen touch the realms of greatness during the 2002/03 tour of Australia - also began to decline.

He resigned the England captaincy in tears in August last year after the home series against South Africa was lost and has not played for England since.

Vaughan, England's most successful Test captain in terms of overall wins, with 26 victories, 11 defeats and 14 draws in his five-year spell in charge, vowed to force his way back into the team through sheer weight of runs.

But never the most prolific of run-getters in county cricket, he has managed just 147 runs in seven County Championship innings this season for Yorkshire.

Meanwhile any hopes Vaughan had of regaining a place in England's side have been blunted by the emergence of Ravi Bopara, who this year has scored hundreds in three successive Tests against the West Indies, at No 3.

There had been speculation that Vaughan might make an announcement about his future following Yorkshire's Twenty20 Cup match against Derbyshire at Headingley on Sunday.

But his position is complicated by the fact that Vaughan is on an ECB central contract.

As a result Vaughan, who met with Yorkshire officials on Sunday, may now have played his final game of cricket at senior level if, as has been reported, his retirement announcement takes immediate effect.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "Michael is employed by the ECB so he is unable to comment until after he has spoken to them and formalised the situation.

"As far as the club is concerned today is an important match for us and we can't have any disruption or lack of focus on what needs to be achieved on the field.

"Both Michael and the club felt it was in both of our interests for him not to play.

"The plan was for him to play but given the news we discussed the situation and felt all the hype and speculation going on wouldn't have been in the team's interests."

    Vaughan's Career Highlights
  • December 1999: Makes England debut in Johannesburg, and impresses with an unflappable 33, despite a scoreline of 2 for 4.
  • January 2000: Named Man of the Match after scoring 69 to seal a consolation win for England at Centurion, in a match later discredited after Hansie Cronje revelations.
  • May 2001: First Test century, 120 against Pakistan at Old Trafford.
  • Aug-Sept 2002: Makes a Test-best 197 against India at Trent Bridge, closely followed by 195 at The Oval, in a remarkable tally of 651 runs in four Tests.
  • January 2003: Climbs to the top of the world rankings after his third century in five Tests against Australia, a brilliant 183 that secures a consolation win in Sydney.
  • July 2003: Named England captain for the second Test against South Africa at Lord's after Nasser Hussain steps down.
  • August 2003: Secures first Test win as captain, by 70 runs at Trent Bridge.
  • August 2003: England level the series against South Africa with a nine-wicket win at The Oval.
  • March 2004: Leads England to their first series win in West Indies since 1967-68.
  • May-August 2004: England win all seven Tests in the summer against New Zealand and West Indies.
  • January 2005: A draw at Centurion Park gives England a series victory in South Africa for the first time since 1965.
  • September 2005: England regain the Ashes after 16 years with a draw at The Oval.
  • February 2006: Breaks down with a knee injury at the start of tour of India. Doesn't play again for nearly a year.
  • May 2007: Makes Test comeback with a century at Headingley against West Indies.
  • June 2007: Resigns one-day captaincy.
  • August 2007: Loses his first home series as captain, going down 1-0 to India.
  • August 2008: Resigns as Test captain following five-wicket loss against South Africa at Edgbaston.
  • September 2008: Retains central contract, but is omitted from winter tours to India and West Indies.
  • June 2009: Overlooked for 16-man preliminary squad for Ashes series.

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