Why English Cricket Needs More Micheal Vaughans

So This week Micheal Vaughan, England's most successful cricket captain, has resigned his post.

This is a serious blow to not just the national side but also world cricket. Vaughan was great captain for England—his achievements were numerous, including leading England through their most purple patch of recent years, series victories in New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, and of course the famous 2005 Ashes victory over Australia.

These achievements aside, he also conducted himself in the most splendid fashion, unlike the behaviour of other international captains, Vaughan himself always conducted himself with an air of honour and always played within the spirit of the game.

The same cannot be said of Ricky Ponting, whom seems to leap from one controversy to another, or Grahame Smith of South Africa, who seems far more concerned about where Kevin Pieterson calls home than how his team is performing.

That is what separated Vaughan from the current crop of international players and even past England captains—he was not afraid to make unpopular decisions, yet always seemed vindicated in his judgement. 

The decision to drop Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison after disappointing winter tours this year are good examples of this.

He was not one to be drawn into sentimentality and always explained his more difficult decisions honestly, reminding me alot of Micheal Athertons reign as skipper during the 1990s.

The pressing issue now is that Kevin Pieterson has been called in to replace Vaughan. Pieterson is a different character all together, ever the showman from when he burst onto the international scene in 2005 (in his birth land of South Africa to jeers of local supporters).

The question arises: Will Pieterson be able to show the resolve of Vaughan and know when to defend a game, rather than attack it?

Pieterson himself has come in for some very heavy and unfair criticism of late in regards to his batting, and my fear is that if he does not succeed with the bat as captain his will suffer as Vaughan has this year—and sadly, he will not have a proven track record to buy him some more time.

Maybe now as one great captain departs another is in the making. The Ashes and tough series' in India, the West Indies, and a tricky home tour against Sri Lanka will tell us all how good a cricketer "KP" really is—not only with his brawn, but also his brain.