Vaughan should save what cricket he has left in his knee for the Test arena, and I would like to see his international comeback being the first Test against Pakistan on 13 July.Andrew Flintoff has performed admirably as a stand-in, but he is no Vaughan. What you see is what you get with Flintoff, and he has captained the side in the same way that he plays his cricket. But anyone with an interest in English cricket must balance their yearning for Vaughan to make an immediate return to international cricket against the long-term requirements of the team and the player. It would be great to see Vaughan lead England in Belfast on 13 June, when they play Ireland in a NatWest series warm-up game, but I would rather he and the selectors showed caution and common sense.
England can live without Vaughan for another six weeks, even though his prowess as a captain has become more evident while he has been absent. He does not want to increase the chances of aggravating the joint by diving around in a largely irrelevant one-day international. Cricket careers are short enough as it is and no player enjoys being injured, especially the captain of a successful England team.
After he has spent almost seven months hobbling around the periphery of the England side with a dodgy right knee, it is an understandable desire. The leading runners stopped a lap too early, allowing Gunther Weidlinger of Austria to win in 8min 25.67sec.. Michael Vaughan has not ruled out playing for England in the forthcomingfive one-day matches against Sri Lanka after making a successful return to competitive cricket with Yorkshire on Monday. Debbie Ferguson won the 100m ahead of the Americans Me’Lisa Barber and Stephanie Durst The Bahamian won in 11.14sec. The British No1, Emma Ania, came fifth in a season’s best 11.42sec.
Britain’s Jermaine Mays set a season’s best of 8min 43.74sec when 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase. Demus, last summer’s world championships runner-up recorded 54.62sec while Johnson ran 54.97sec. Latvia’s Ainars Kovals threw a lifetime best of 85.74m in second place, but Nick Nieland of England managed only one valid throw, of 80.31m, for a disappointing sixth.
Natasha Danvers-Smith was an impressive third in the 400m hurdles, clocking 55.40sec behind the US pair of Lashinda Demus and Sheena Johnson. The 39-year-old three-times Olympic and world champion threw 83.52 metres but was beaten by Russia’s Sergei Makarov with 88.49m. Horatio Nelson, only eighth in the Guineas, is understood to have run all over his stablemate Septimus, hitherto widely touted as Fallon’s choice..
The javelin world record holder, Jan Zelezny, was beaten into third place in his final appearance at the Czech Republic’s top athletics meeting here last night. Bookmakers’ lines were hot after morning work at Ballydoyle and the son of Danehill halved in price, from 9-1 to 9-2 second favourite. The reason was a report of a sparkling final spin by the little bay colt, once winter favourite but supplanted in the lists by those who have shone more brightly this spring, like unbeaten Visindar, Dante Stakes winner Septimus and 2,000 Guineas runner-up Sir Percy. It is just like the old days, really What is he going to ride? Whatever it is, get on For Lester Piggott, read Kieren Fallon. The modern king of Epsom will stay mum until this morning about the horse to be charged with giving him his fourth Derby win in six runnings but if money talks, it will be Horatio Nelson.