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| February 12, 2006 | Sunday | Muharram 13, 1427 |
Vaughan ready for India battle
LONDON, Feb 11: Michael Vaughan will step on to a plane for India on Sunday relishing the prospect of swapping full-time father’s duties for 24-7 cricket.
The England skipper has been revitalised by a six-week break in the wake of a bitterly disappointing tour of Pakistan, from which he returned home early to have surgery on his right knee.
After last summer’s Ashes win over Australia, England were brought down to earth with a bump when they lost their three-Test series in Pakistan 2-0.
But Vaughan, 31, revealed that quality time spent with wife Nichola, daughter Tallulah and new son Archie over the last few weeks had left him feeling rejuvenated.
“Although I’ve been in the job for three years, I feel fresh. I don’t feel as if I’ve been in it for three years,” the Yorkshire batsman said.
“I remember getting the job but at times it’s flown so fast that I still feel very young as a captain and hopefully I can do it for a while yet.
“I think this break has done me a world of good because it’s the first proper break I’ve had for a while. I think it’s refreshed me and I still feel quite young.”
Vaughan and his Ashes-winning squad have all seen their profiles surge in the wake of the victory over Australia.
The captain has received an honorary degree from the University of Sheffield, his home town, and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
But the pressures of celebrity have been put to one side over the last month and a half.
“I have to make the odd phone call and have meetings but I’m good at turning the phone off and not thinking about what I’ve just been talking about,” Vaughan said.
“You can never turn your phone off for a week but I’m good at spending little periods of time doing what I have to do and then forgetting about it.
“I don’t watch cricket on television. I watch the odd bits of highlights but I couldn’t watch a whole game.
“I’ve got better things to do like being with the family and watching (local soccer team) Sheffield Wednesday. When you’ve got two kids you don’t get that much time to watch a whole day’s play so I don’t do it.”—AFP
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