Michael Vaughan set to retire

Michael Vaughan, the former England cricket captain who was the most successful skipper ever of the national side, will confirm his retirement from all forms of the game at a press conference at Edgbaston tomorrow.

Having resigned as captain eleven months ago with the intention of playing himself back into the England team, Vaughan has not managed to regain the batting ability he once had.

A Yorkshire player, the 34-year-old Vaughan led England in 51 Tests, 26 of which were won. He also captained the national side to Ashes victory in 2005.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Mike Atherton, the Times: "There are no fairytale endings in sport, said Steve Waugh, gimlet-eyed, hard-boiled and unsentimental to the end. Were that he was wrong about that, as the best England captain of the modern era, Michael Vaughan, retired from professional cricket but not from life as of today, will no doubt be thinking. Vaughan desperately wanted to go out with the crowds cheering and the Ashes again in safe keeping, especially since the manner of his departure from the captaincy still rankles."

Steve James, Daily Telegraph: "Boy, could he bat. For a period, most notably in Australia in 2002-03, he touched greatness. He began his career as a blocker. By that tour he had become a stroke-maker of withering effectiveness. The signature shots - the cover-drive and the swivel pull - were unfurled with grace and poise. His early and decisive trigger movements were copied the world over. In five Tests he scored 633 runs, with five centuries. Mentally he shocked the Australians. He showed team-mates that a great bowler like Glenn McGrath could be tamed. It sowed seeds for 2005. He was already a leader of a kind."

David Hopps, the Guardian: "It would not have taken much for Vaughan to force his way into England's Ashes plans. The selectors were ready to be seduced by something insubstantial, a couple of silky 70s perhaps, recognising that Vaughan's county form has never been outstanding. But Vaughan even failed to summon respectability, averaging only 19.87 in eight first-class innings and saving his three half-centuries for one-day cricket. To make matters worse, the chronic knee problems which had needed four ­operations and threatened to end his career led to him missing several sessions in the field."