Press conference at 1

This could be interesting.

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/engvrsa/content/story/363507.html

Hmmmm, sounds ominous for Vawn.

Looks like he's gone.

I can see a positive in that ...

If Vaughan does stand down, the search will be on for his successor, with Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss the frontrunners within the current team. Paul Collingwood would also be an option,

FFS!

Collingwood goes from one good ball away from being axed for good to potentially the next captain in the space of 2 days!

How knee-jerk can the England selectors be?

If all these players weren't good enough to be picked for Edgbaston, then how come they are for the Oval? Could it possibly be that the selectors should be the ones with their necks on the block rather than the players?

Not sure where I stand on Vaughan. He has been a good captain, but his batting is clearly in decline and the team that he and Fletcher built in 2004-5 is now in tatters.

But are there better alternatives for captain? Hard to say with most of the England first teamers having such little county captaincy experience.

Gary 111 wrote:But are there better alternatives for captain? Hard to say with most of the England first teamers having such little county captaincy experience.

Fixed

His batting and captaincy are in decline. If he resigns the captaincy, he has no England future, as it's his only strong suit. Though in theory he could go back to Dumpshire and score a lot of runs, his recent county record seems to indicate that that is unlikely. Personally, I'll be unhappy if he leaves the whole thing up in the air simply by resigning the captaincy. He ought to retire, or not, as far as I'm concerned. As we saw in the Ashes, the middle ground with Vaughan only serves to damage the England team.

embee wrote:I can see a positive in that ...

Give the armband to KP. It will be interesting to see if the extra pressure effects the cavalier way he bats.

End of an era. It definately is his time to step down though. I wouldn't be opposed to keeping him as a batsman for the 4th test though, lets remember that he was the best batsman in the world before he took on the captaincy. Not saying he will reach those heights again but it would be interesting to see if his batting flourishes without the extra responsibility of being captain.

Augustus wrote:His batting and captaincy are in decline. If he resigns the captaincy, he has no England future, as it's his only strong suit. Though in theory he could go back to Dumpshire and score a lot of runs, his recent county record seems to indicate that that is unlikely. Personally, I'll be unhappy if he leaves the whole thing up in the air simply by resigning the captaincy. He ought to retire, or not, as far as I'm concerned. As we saw in the Ashes, the middle ground with Vaughan only serves to damage the England team.

To be honest, when you consider what he's gone through in terms of his fitness and continuous knee injuries, its hard to seen him going through playing for Yorkshire and trying to fight his way back if his England captaincy is ended.

Gough did it, through similar pain - but Goughy was a bit of a one off. Atherton had similar chronic injuries, and he retired at 33.

Aye. At almost 34, Vawn may call it quits. What else is he good at?

Taking the positives.

Putting himself under a little bit of pressure?

Don't send MPV back to Yorkshire...pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't.

*sadistic grin*

It's here, apparently ...

Has to be Strauss doesn't it?

Doesn't sound like it.

They could be brave and give the job to KP. But some might think that would be nuts.

Sans Souci wrote:They could be brave and give the job to KP. But some might think that would be nuts.

Were they the same people that thought giving it to Freddie was nuts?

JGK ...

So has KP been named as captain?

Not yet. Execution before appointment.

Colly also steps down as OD skipper.