The end of the Vaughan era

The decision, I understand, was his and his alone and on the basis that he believed he could no longer continue, it is hard to argue against. The captaincy of England is just about the best job in the world but it is also an all-consuming one. If you take the job seriously, as Vaughan has unquestionably done, then there comes a time when you simply don't want to do it any more. There comes a time when you don't want to spend every evening at dinner ignoring your companions, or your family, thinking about where your next run is coming from, who should be opening the bowling the following morning or how to tell your mate that he is no longer good enough to be in the team. There comes a time when you want the headlines to be about someone else.

To give the selectors only 24 hours to pick the right man to lead England, not just into the match at The Oval but through the winter and on to next summer's Ashes series, would make an unreasonable demand of any group, never mind this callow bunch. That is why Vaughan's decision, however emotional it may have been, was a selfish one: he should have accepted the need to end his captaincy at the most appropriate time. Yesterday's proclamation, with its note of despair, ends his own torment but helps nobody else.