England captain has no need to mend his reputation

So England suffers a ten wicket defeat at the hands of a very strong South African cricket team and immediately the recriminations begin.

Why was our batting so feeble? Whose decision was it to pick the former roof tiler Darren Pattinson from virtual obscurity? Why did England captain Michael Vaughan fail to get runs in either innings?

Everyone should take a deep breath and consider for a moment that England have enjoyed a pretty good summer to date, including a Test Series win against New Zealand and having the best of the First Test against the South Africans.

Although only being whispered quietly, there are also suggestions that Vaughan’s days as captain may be numbered unless the team gets back to winning ways and he starts contributing more with the bat.

Vaughan may only average 30 in his last dozen Tests for England, but it is only five matches ago that he notched up a superb hundred. He is also head and shoulders above any other candidate for the England captaincy, rather as Mike Brearley was back in the early 80s.

Yes, England made some selection errors, but there are enough quality players in the side – helped by the return to the ranks of Freddie Flintoff – for England to bounce back before the end of the summer.

And Vaughan certainly has no need to mend his own reputation. Without him as leader and top order batsman, England really would have something to worry about.