Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has said England winning in India is bigger than the 2010/2011 Ashes win in Australia. Is he right?
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan ha suggested that England’s 2-1 win in India is a bigger achievement than their last Ashes win and in a number of ways he is right. England went to a country where their recent record has been abysmal and they came out of it having totally out played their opponents.
The conditions in India did not suit what England are used to and enjoy. The wickets were slow, they had little help for the fast bowlers and they offered slow turn as matches went on. Therefore, it was a huge effort for England to overhaul their weaknesses and win two out of four Test matches in India.
“To beat an Indian side on home soil is huge. To beat that side in Australia was great. England have wanted to do that for many years but this is a bigger cricketing achievement,” Vaughan told BBC Radio 5.
England went into the series off the back of a drubbing at home against South Africa which saw them lose their status as the best Test match team in the world. Confidence was low and the issue of Kevin Pietersen’s place in the side was a massive worry. It’s important to remember that the last time England played any cricket in India, before this series, they lost five One Day International matches in a row.
It was also the first real chance to see how Alastair Cook would perform with the captaincy and how that would impact on his batting in the side. He produced three back-to-back centuries to become England’s leading century scorer in Test cricket so no worries there.
He also showed great initiative as captain of the side in terms of the selections the team made and the tactics they used on the field. Remember, he was Andrew Strauss’ deputy during the last Ashes tour when England defeated Australia 3-1 away from home.
Vaughan has also suggested that Cook’s role as the leader of the side makes England a very authoritative team because Cook himself compliments the players he represents. He is a world class batsman and he is very modest which means he doesn’t draw too much attention to himself or make himself a target.
“I always say at the end of a series if you could have won without the captain then he is not a massive player within the team. This series there is no way England would have won without Alastair Cook, he has had that big a role. You can already see in the four games he has captained that his stamp is on the team,” added Vaughan.
Next up for England are the limited overs matches against India before the team flies over to New Zealand for a brief tour before returning for a massive summer of English cricket.
images: © britanglishman, © andy-roo
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