No place for Vaughan in Windies but don't write him off yet

13 April 2012

Michael Vaughan must have known that any hopes he had of touring the Caribbean this winter ended when his mini-trip to India was abandoned in late November. But his dream of playing Test cricket again is not dead just yet.

The selectors said so today and, just as importantly, Vaughan believes it to be true.

Picking the former captain on the basis of that overused theory about 'form being temporary while class is permanent' would have been a nonsense - and the biggest kick in the teeth yet for Owais Shah, who has more than earned the chance of batting at No3 for England against West Indies.

No, Vaughan's only faint hope of forcing his way into the squad by showing that he can still play like a champion in the middle disappeared once the Performance Squad, of which he was a member, flew home from Bangalore in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks

Unlike the Test tour of India, the back-up party's trip was not revived and Vaughan had no shop window in which to display his talents while current No3 Ian Bell was struggling horribly on the slow, turning pitches of Chennai and Mohali.

If there is any justice, Shah (right) - not the under-achieving Bell - will be the player to follow Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss to the crease at Kingston's Sabina Park when the First Test in Jamaica takes place in February. But there will still be plenty of time after that four-match series for Vaughan to stake his claim.

The batsman who back in the winter of 2002-3 scored three centuries in five Ashes Tests and was briefly rated world No1 needs first to put himself in perfect mental and physical shape for a new campaign and then have a storming start to the season with Yorkshire.

Even that may not be enough to earn Vaughan a place in the two-Test home series against West Indies. But a sackful of runs will keep England's top order under pressure and make the former Ashes-winning skipper an outstanding candidate to step in for the highlight of the summer.

Back in 2005, the selectors ditched old campaigner Graham Thorpe for the First Test against Australia and followed a gut instinct to play Kevin Pietersen. If Vaughan is in prime form come July do not discount them backing another hunch.

Although the 34-year-old spent Christmas wondering whether he just might make Pietersen's squad for the Caribbean, he had already steeled himself for the more logical outcome. "I'll go and play some cricket somewhere to give myself the best chance of starting the season well and have one more crack at the Aussies - if not two cracks," said Vaughan when asked about how he would deal with being overlooked.

"I feel fitter now than I have done for a few years and I've just got to get my batting right and get back into the team."

Despite losing in India, England have barely tinkered with their Test squad for the Caribbean. Paceman Ryan Sidebottom, who missed out on a trip to the subcontinent because of a side strain, has been reinstated while promising young leg-spinner Adil Rashid is now a fully paid up member of the party.

Rashid, 20, has the chance to not only further his cricketing knowledge but also press Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann for what is almost certain to be one spinner's spot in the Test team.

"Adil is an exciting prospect for the future," said chief selector Geoff Miller. "His inclusion will enable us to continue to monitor his development closely as well as providing extra competition in the spin bowling department."

As well as four Tests, England will also play six limited-overs internationals in the Caribbean - and after losing 5-0 to India they need to show a drastic improvement.

Luke Wright, Alastair Cook and Tim Ambrose, who managed just two appearances between them in India, have been jettisoned while Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas - prematurely discarded last summer - and promising Worcestershire keeper-batsman Steven Davies come into the squad.

Meanwhile, Kent's Rob Key was named as captain of the England Lions development side scheduled to tour New Zealand, while the full team are in the West Indies.

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Alastair Cook

Caribbean Islands (west Indies)

Cricket

Graham Thorpe

Ian Bell

No place for Vaughan in Windies but don't write him off yet

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