The Hindu : Sport : Vaughan back with a bang

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Saturday, May 26, 2007
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Vaughan back with a bang

Ted Corbett

Kevin Pietersen slams an unbeaten century

LEEDS: Michael Vaughan is apt to celebrate a victory over the press with a little smirk; he did it on Thursday when he refused to confirm the team that would play in the second Test against West Indies.

Twenty-four hours later he was entitled to celebrate with a loud guffaw and a clenched fist as he scored the runs his critics declared were beyond him after 18 months away from the Test arena. "Judge me on the next five days," he begged those who had said he should have shown form in county matches first, that he had too firm a grip on his place in the side and it was all so unfair.

On the first day of this Test, on his home ground — but admittedly against an attack he would have chosen to face — Vaughan looked every inch the old master.

Nervous start

All right, he began diffidently, even nervously and he spent the first hour of his innings getting his eye in. But once he had played that trusty pull shot and then an off-drive of such class that it might have come from Len Hutton, who played more than his share at Headingley, there was no doubt that his touch, his footwork and his place among the peers of the crease was still in place.

Typically, his fifty, off 94 balls with seven fours, came from a slipshod piece of fielding. I watched the West Indies practice on Thursday and counted 20 such shoddy moments before I gave up my vigil of this unedifying spectacle.

It is an ordinary county side in everything save its batting and when Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropped out with a knee injury just before the toss even its chance of run scoring looked thinner.

Strauss fails

Vaughan won the toss and took advantage of a pitch that proved to be slow but true. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook began brightly but Strauss, whose star seems to be on the wane, edged a catch to the wicketkeeper for 15.

There was a persistent rumour during practice that Strauss would be dropped — in fact it was James Anderson who wasted his journey — and that day cannot be far off. The confidence that almost brought two centuries in his first Test has evaporated.

Cook seemed to be affected by Vaughan's nerves and was leg-before in Chris Gayle's only over before lunch at 91 for two. Vaughan and Pietersen put on 56 in the first hour — varying stern defence with big shots — when Gayle might have had Pietersen stumped on 21 but he had no-balled.

Vaughan produced another of his own brand pulls; Pietersen hit a pulverising extra-coverdrive and then a straight-drive; now we were watching the two most attractive England stroke makers in full flow. Their hundred stand came in 20 overs; the 200 at almost a run a ball and Pietersen's 50 came in 67 balls.

Singing praises

The capacity crowd were singing praises of their hero who could do no wrong by tea when he was 92. His hundred was delayed by Pietersen keeping the bowling and a cantankerous Yorkshire fan who insisted on his right to sit behind the bowler's arm against the advice of umpire Asad Rauf, Ramnaresh Sarwan and the 15,000 spectators.

Finally he took a new guard, practised his favourite pull and edged four through the slips to reach his 16th Test hundred. The crowd stood, Vaughan celebrated extravagantly. He was out almost immediately and quickly followed by Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell so that England went from 254 for two to 325 for five. It finished with 366 for five and Pietersen (130 batting) ready to push the score along on day two.

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