Former England captain Michael Vaughan spoke of having ‘no regrets,’ as he reflected on his distinguished cricket career at the launch of his new autobiography, “Time to Declare”, in Liverpool.

Vaughan retired in summer 2009, just weeks after some were tipping him to earn a recall to the England side that would attempt to take back the Ashes after the series whitewash defeat against Australia in winter 2007.

Not until Vaughan was omitted from the provisional squad for the series did the ‘retirement’ rumour gather pace. He told JMU Journalism: “Yes, I always planned to retire in the summer, after the Ashes, whether I was selected or not. I’d had enough of playing. I’m 34, I have had a long career and feel it’s time to give someone else a go."

The ex-England captain was realistic when admitting that his form wasn’t good enough to merit inclusion and get the fairytale ending to a remarkable career. Vaughan was far from dismayed though at being denied his dream finish, stating: “I have no regrets with my career. I played for England which is what I always wanted to do, I captained my country to an Ashes win.”

Inevitably, given his reputation and achievements within the game, attention turned to whether or not he could have handled the series better than those selected, Ravi Bopara in particular. Bopara only showed fleeting glimpses of his ability, before being dropped for the final Test in favour of Jonathan Trott, who scored 119 in leading England to victory.

Did Vaughan feel that he could have done better in that situation? “No, not at all. It’s a pressure cooker environment and when some players struggle it’s perfectly understandable. I mean, a lot of players didn’t perform well. [Alastair] Cook didn’t have a particularly good series, neither did Colly [Paul Collingwood], but we still won and that’s what matters.”

Despite the decision to retire after the Ashes series already having been made, Vaughan faced criticism for seemingly not giving any consideration to continuing his career at Yorkshire. He maintained that he wanted to give younger players a chance to establish themselves, adding: “I could have played on for three seasons at Yorkshire and had whatever contract I wanted but I chose not to... I’ve never been a prolific county batsman.”

One of the more controversial issues to stem from the book’s release was Vaughan accusing Trott of ‘partying’ with the South African national cricket team following their last Test victory over England, despite being involved with the England squad at the time. Vaughan said: “The situation he found himself in was not appropriate for somebody in his position.”

This sparked media debate about whether or not players born in other countries have the commitment and passion to play for England, or whether there needs to be a revamp of the selection criteria, but Vaughan said: “It has absolutely nothing to do with where they were born. I have absolutely no issue with Trott or Kev [Kevin Pietersen] or anybody else playing for England. They deserve to be in the position that they have played themselves into.”

It is insights such as this that make ‘Time to Declare’ a must-read for all cricket fans. Many will point to the fact, with much scepticism, that this will be his third book since 2003 and about how it could differ to the previous two.

When pressed about this issue, Vaughan said: “I have had the opportunity to be a lot more honest in this book. These are my real feelings and I haven’t held back. It’s hard to write a book when you are still playing because obviously you are restricted in what you say, you have to keep your mouth shut about certain things and people, the way things are run.”

As for the future, Michael maintains that he would like to be involved in coaching at grass roots level, but for now is just happy concentrating on his radio commitments and following his football team, Sheffield Wednesday. He admits that football was his sport growing up, though he admits: “I was never going to be good enough for that.”

Shorthand Sue

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