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Opener Shaharyar Farrukh slammed 119 as Karachi Greens made 317 in their first innings on the first day of the three-day National Junior (Under-19) Grade-II Cricket Championship semifinal against Sibi at PCB Regional Academy Ground here Sunday.Sibi, in reply, were struggling at 66 for three at stumps.Shaharyar’s knock was spiced with 15 fours and three sixes after Karachi Greens skipper Vinod Ramesh won the toss and elected to bat first.Owais Ahmed was the other main scorer. He hit six boundaries in making 49.Slow left-armer Talat Khan took the bowling honours with excellent figures of six for 89 in 31.1 overs.Meanwhile, Afaq Raheem made 147 as Azad Jammu and Kashmir were dismissed for 267 in the other semifinal against Gujranwala at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala.Paceman Ali Imran claimed five for 55.The home team replied with 79 for three.

A spectacular thunderstorm interrupted a Sri Lankan fight-back on the fourth afternoon of the second Test at SuperSport Park on Monday, frustrating the visitors who need to win this Test to level the series.Marvan Atapattu’s side had responded strongly in their second innings afterbowling out the South Africans for 448 in the morning with left-hander KumarSangakkara scoring a brilliant boundary-studded 89 from 132 balls.But shortly after the dismissal of Sangakkara, who was athletically caught down the leg-side by Mark Boucher for the second consecutive Test, the players were forced off the field for bad light.Sri Lanka were 180 for three with a 55 runs lead. Although play will start half an hour early on Tuesday, Sri Lanka do not appear to have sufficient time to build a sufficient lead and then bowl out a long South African batting line-up.South Africa, however, believe they can force a result having just claimed the crucial wicket of Sangakkara, ending a 119-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene that was shifting the initiative towards the tourists."If we can strike early tomorrow morning and break this partnership then they have a long tail and we can chase down a target in the second innings," said Shaun Pollock afterwards.But he warned against complacency: "You can’t rule out anything in cricket. However, the Sri Lankans will have to bat quickly tomorrow and be inventive with their declaration if they are going to have a chance."Earlier in the day, Pollock had narrowly missed out on a third Test century,left stranded on 99 not out when last man Ntini was caught at mid-off attempting an ambitious lofted drive.Pollock looked crestfallen, ignoring Ntini as he marched back to the dressing room, but he had contributed to his unfortunate fate by deciding not to shield Ntini from the strike and taking a first ball single against Chaminda Vaas.He had started the morning in aggressive fashion, taking the attack to Muttiah Muralitharan whom he reverse-swept for four and then slog-swept mightily for six to move within touching distance of his hundred.If Pollock had scored a hundred it would have been the third time that he had passed three figures at this venue, after 111 against Sri Lanka on their last tour and 113* against the Indians in a warm-up game.He finished with 99 from 170 balls, having hit eight fours and two sixes during an innings that ensured his side a valuable first innings lead by the time they were finally bowled out for 448, an innings that started on Saturday morning and spanned a total of 166.3 overs.Pollock thus becomes the fourth batsman in Test history to be left stranded on 99, after England fast bowler Alex Tudor (1999), opener Geoff Boycott (1979-80) and Steve Waugh (1994-95).Left-armer Vaas finished the innings with two for 81 from 33.3 overs andMuralitharan ended up bowling 57 overs for his two wickets.The Sri Lankan innings had then started disastrously when rookie opener Jehan Mubarak (15), so impressive in the first innings, was adjudged to have edged a catch to Mark Boucher off Makhaya Ntini. Replays showed clear daylight between bat and ball.Stand-in captain Marvan Atapattu (22) – cracked on the helmet early on in his innings during a brisk new-ball burst from Ntini – then became the 13th Sri Lankan in the series to be dismissed between 20 and 50 when he flashed a catch to Boucher.Sangakkara and Jayawardene were given a searching examination by the freshSouth Africa fast bowlers, who had spent the best part of two days with their feet up in the dressing room. But the pair gradually settled and in the half hour before tea they pushed their foot down on the accelerator.Jayawardene nearly threw his wicket away when Pollock grabbed his helmet in jest when the right-hander top edged an attempted hook. Furious with the South African captain for touching him, he lost his cool and clearly distracted he could have been run out shortly afterwards whilst ambling through for a leg bye.The umpires were forced to intervene, asking both sides to calm down. In theevent the tea interval allowed Jayawardene to regain his composure and hefinished the day unbeaten on 40. Tillakaratne, the first innings centurion, is yet to score.

Stuart Broad responded to his omission from the Test at Edgbaston with three wickets for Nottinghamshire to help them dismiss Durham for 266 at Trent Bridge. He was the seventh bowler used after arriving from Birmingham, but soon struck to have Ben Harmison caught behind as the visitors struggled. Broad also removed top-scorer Will Smith, against his former club, for 85 and wrapped up the innings with the scalp of fellow England squad member Steve Harmison. Durham were once again indebted to Smith, who hit 13 boundaries in his 182-ball innings and the next-best score was Paul Wiseman’s 32 which at least lifted the total over 250. Charlie Shreck ended with the best figures of 4 for 69, which included both openers in a testing first spell. Andre Adams stood in until Broad arrived at the ground and had time to claim the vital wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with a thick inside edge into the stumps.A solid performance form the Hampshire top order put them in control against Kent at Canterbury. Michael Carberry led the way with 92 against a home side perhaps suffering a hangover from their Twenty20 Cup final defeat on Saturday. Yasir Arafat made early inroads, but the other bowlers couldn’t build on it in friendly batting conditions. Carberry and Michael Lumb added 181 before Ryan McLaren made a brace of breakthroughs to bring Kent back into the game at 208 for 4. However, Chris Benham and Nic Pothas settled into a solid stand until Arafat claimed his third to remove Benham one short of his fifty. However, 400 is still well within reach for Hampshire.Five wickets for Yorkshire‘s Deon Kruis made it another familiarly miserable Championship day for Surrey and one victim Mark Ramprakash in particular whose struggles continued with 6. Stewart Walters was the top scorer with 40, while there was a brace each for Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid. To apply some more salt, Yorkshire eased to 50 without loss by stumps at Headingley.Murray Goodwin’s century helped Sussex end on 382 for 6 after batting against Somerset at Horsham. He cut and pulled well before eventually playing on to Andy Caddick for 137 with stumps looming. Chris Adams chipped in with his second fifty of the term, while Michael Yardy also made a half-century. Charl Willoughby returned three wickets: firstly yorking Chris Nash and then finding Luke Wright’s edge but Yardy steadied with Goodwin. Yardy was caught off Caddick for 68 by Peter Trego at square leg, while Willoughby returned to claim Matt Prior who picked out Zander de Bruyn at midwicket.

Chris Wright’s best first-class figures helped Essex to bowl out Glamorgan for a lowly 139 then draw level by stumps for the loss of 5 wickets. Seam bowlers and spinners alike got assistance from the wicket at Southend-on-Sea as few batsmen suggested much permanence. After Wright took consistent wickets in his first Championship match since May, Ravi Bopara hastened the end of the Glamorgan innings with 3 for 19 as his skiddy seamers accounted for the lower order. Adam Shantry was the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers on his Championship debut with 3 for 40 as he removed both openers and then returned to have nightwatchman David Masters caught behind in the last over of the day. Essex had moved into a commanding position just before close when they had reached 132 for 3 but the quick dismissals of Masters and Grant Flower left Mark Pettini and the lower order plenty to do in the morning.While South Africa enjoyed a good Test day with the ball, a former international of theirs was happily carving out some fun with the bat. Lance Klusener made his 19th first-class hundred as Northamptonshire had the better of the opening day with 382 for 6 against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.. There was a half-century too for Riki Wessels, who made 79, while Robert White just missed out with 49. But late wickets will have encouraged the home side, Klusener finally falling for 135, bowled by Graham Wagg, who also picked off his countryman Nicky Boje for 4.Another South African, HD Ackerman, also helped out his side, but as wickets fell around him he remains the key, his 173 not out the bulk of Leicestershire‘s 288 for 6 against Warwickshire at Grace Road. James Anyon had set them in early trouble, with the top two wickets, but Ackerman shared a half-century stand with Paul Nixon and then put on 139 for the fifth wicket with Joshua Cobb – Nixon and Cobb both ending with 35.Kabir Ali’s form with the ball continued as he picked up 6 for 94 as Worcestershire dismissed Gloucestershire for 283 at Cheltenham. Simon Jones returned to action after resting against Middlesex last week, and his 16 overs brought him a wicket for 45 runs. But the day belonged to Ali, whose haul included Hamish Marshall for a duck and Marcus North who, for the second week running, was out on 98. Imran Arif, meanwhile, nailed David Brown on 83 to end with two. Worcestershire lost Daryl Mitchell on what became the final ball of the day, Steve Kirby celebrating signing a new long-term contract with the club with his wicket.

Somerset Sabres, who are already doomed to the second division next season, give two young players their chance to shine when they play against Durham in the NUL National League at the Riverside Ground at Chester le Street tomorrow.Wes Durston and Arul Suppiah are brought into the team and will both be looking to continue the run of good form that they have been showing in recent second eleven matches.Durston, who is a former Millfield School pupil is twenty one years old and hails from Glastonbury is a middle order right handed batsman and an off break bowler. Suppiah is also a former Millfield pupil, and celebrated his nineteenth birthday last Friday. He is a top order right handed batsman and slow left armer, who is currently attending Exeter University.Ahead of tomorrow’s game Kevin Shine told me: "We are having to rest a few people at the moment to try to make sure that we get them right for the vital championship match against on Wednesday. We have got two players making their NUL debuts, Wes Durston and Arul Suppiah who have both performed well in the second eleven and also gave a good account of themselves against West Indies ‘A’ recently."The side will be captained by Marcus Trescothick who gets another outing for the county before playing for England in the final test match on Thursday.The full Somerset team is: Marcus Trescothick, Matt Wood, Pete Trego, Arul Suppiah, Ian Blackwell, Wes Durston, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Matt Bulbeck, Simon Francis, Steffan Jones.

Kristian Wilson produced his best competitive bowling figures as Bournemouth thrashed Bashley (Rydal) by ten wickets at Chapel Gate to propel themselves into the thick of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League leadership race.The 19-year old former Poole Grammar School medium-pace man took 5-19 – 11 of the runs he conceded were either wides or no-balls – in a splendid ten-over spell as Bashley were skittled for a meagre 101.Matt Swarbrick blasted a boundary-strewn 66 not out as Bournemouth raced to a second consecutive Division 1 victory inside 19 overs.The result was totally demoralising for Bashley – scorers of a daunting 301-5 at Burridge only seven days previously – who were looking to press home their own claims.In many respects, Bashley – who have never won at Chapel Gate – contributed to their own downfall.”I’m sure quite a number of the Bashley batsmen will look back upon some poor shot selection,” said Swarbrick, the Bournemouth skipper.”But I thought we bowled pretty well, putting the ball in the right areas and, after some erratic early stuff, kept things very tight.”Bashley must have realised it was going to be one of those days after only three minutes of play.Andy Sexton pushed a shot to point, went for a quick single – only to see his batting partner Neil Thurgood run-out without facing by a direct hit throw from Bournemouth debutant Dan Jackson.Thurgood was the Premier League’s leading individual run scorer last month.Bashley dipped into further trouble when Jo Wilson, moving his modest medium-pacers into the batsman, breached Sexton’s defences at 15-2.It needed a major contribution from Luke Ronchi if Bashley were going to dig themselves out of the mire. For a while, it looked as though it might happen.Watchful at first on an unusually green Sports Club surface, Ronchi took a distinct liking to teenager James Elliott-Square, who – blissfully unaware of the Western Australian’s pulling prowess – dropped in a few short-pitched deliveries.Two leg-side sixes, 19 runs and a potentially critical Dave Kidner dropped catch later, a bemused Elliott-Square departed from the Bournemouth attack.But, just as Ronchi (25) looked as though he might rebuild Bashley’s fragile start, Kristian Wilson came on at the scoreboard end – and promptly removed the Australian.Ironically, he was caught low down at mid-on in the 11th over – by a much relieved Kidner !It was the beginning of the end for Bashley as Wilson (no relation to the Liverpudlian), bowling away swing, cut through the visitors middle-order. He had Richard Knowles picked up at slip and, next ball, trapped Andy Neal leg before to leave Bashley rocking at 66-5.So effectively did Wilson bowl that only eight runs came off the bat in his decisive ten over stint.”Kristian has benefiting from the coaching of former England fast bowler Graham Dilley at Loughborough and he’s come on great strides.”He hadn’t been able to bowl out-swing before this season and, if he’s able to cut out his extras (11 wides and no-balls against Bashley), he’ll become a very good bowler,” praised Swarbrick.Wilson and Dorset left-arm new boy Matt Mixer (3-15) reduced Bashley to 86-9 before John Whiting, eager to bat higher in the order, enjoyed a late flurry to take the total into treble figures.It took Swarbrick and Tom Webley just 18.5 overs to put Bashley out of their misery. The Bournemouth captain launched onto the offensive, hitting Whiting out of the attack and Kevin Nash going for 39 off his six overs.Webley, anxious to spend some time in the middle after only two innings for Somerset 2nd XI this season, played a watching brief as Swarbrick smacked a straight six and ten fours in an undefeated 66 off 57 deliveries.Webley finished with 28 out out as Bournemouth completed a thumping ten-wicket victory over their near neighbours.Bashley, having beaten Havant and Burridge in the past fortnight, go into next Saturday’s nine-week session of all-day ‘time’ cricket with three losses in five matches.Bournemouth, 19-run winners over champions BAT Sports last week, travel to table-topping Andover buoyant after beating two of the Premier League’s strongest sides.

Shane Warne has been denied another crack at South Africa’s batsmen as he battles the hamstring injury which has interrupted one of his best seasons of spin bowling.Warne admitted he wasn’t ready for today’s fourth one-day international in Bloemfontein after failing to shake the niggle suffered during the hour before he played his 100th Test in Cape Town three weeks ago.Warne played on and bowled 141 overs in the final two Tests but the injury prevented him from playing three one-day games and Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott wanted the 32-year-old to rest until at least Wednesday’s fifth match in Durban.It was good news for South Africa’s batsmen, who again failed to handle Warne this season as he claimed 37 wickets from six Tests at an average of 24.72Warne was convinced he was bowling better than at any stage since returning from the shoulder injury which threatened to derail his career four years ago.”I wanted to keep on that form in the one-dayers, but it’s not to be. Now I suppose I’m going to be a bit rusty coming back for the last couple,” Warne said.”Finally, after a few years of inconsistent form and injuries, I got back to being very happy and confident with my bowling – I don’t think I could have bowled any better in these six Tests against South Africa.”I’ve been bowling so well, besides the second innings in Durban when I was just too sore with my leg.”Warne and batsman Michael Bevan, who also has a sore hamstring, will spend another day as drinks waiters for an Australian team which leads the seven-matchseries 2-0 following a dramatic tie in Potchefstroom last Wednesday.Australian selectors have seen a bright side to the injury problems, with Queenslanders Nathan Hauritz and Jimmy Maher impressing in the series, and Warne has also found a positive thought.”I’d love to be out on the park, but the break probably did me the world of good,” he said.”When you think about what we’ve had – the Australian summer, India, England, the Australian summer, South Africa – it’s been a pretty long 12 to 18 months, so 10 days off doing nothing much apart from being a gym junkie has been pretty good.”(The hamstring) feels a lot better but it’s still not right. If I play and bowl or dive for a caught and bowled or something, and I’m out for another four to six weeks, it’d be no good to anyone.”It wouldn’t be fair to team or myself to come back too early.”But Warne has still fired a verbal shot at South Africa’s batsmen, insisting the inclusion of young opener Graeme Smith to the Proteas’ squad was a boost forAustralia.”A few of the South Africans have a few technical things against the quicks with the new ball and that’s obviously why guys like Smith have been brought in but he’s probably got more problems than a few of them,” Warne said.”I know he had one or two good innings in the Tests but in Cape Town I think he was out three times before he got to nought and he went on and got 50. He playedpretty well after that.”He’s only young and hopefully he’ll learn by those experiences and be good for South Africa but him coming into the team is probably going to help us.”

FULL NAME: Allan Mwayenga
BORN: At Harare, 28 June 1982
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2001/02). Present club side: Country Club
KNOWN AS: Allan Mwayenga. Nickname: Cisco
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Left Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy studentFIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 15-17 February 2002, CFX Academy v Manicaland, at MutareSports Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (April 2002)Allan Mwayenga, left-arm seamer at the CFX Academy, has followed a slightly unusual course to first-class cricket. He had little or no contact with the game at junior school, and was only converted at the age of about 13 due to his father’s job.His father works at St John’s College in Harare, and he remembers as a youngster he and his brother Waddington, two years younger and now also a first-class cricketer, used to watch Mr Bill Flower, father of Test players Andy and Grant, coaching in the nets there. This was how their interest was kindled, and Bill soon took an interest himself in the two boys.Allan attended Vainona High School, and now started playing there. The two boys’ great natural talent quickly led to their being the leading players in a weak team, which he found difficult. By the time he was in Form Two, at the age of 15, he had forced his way into the school first team, where he spent three years. His best performance for Vainona was against Gateway School at a cricket festival, where he took eight for 16. He also scored 118 in a match against Lord Malvern High School, his only century to date, sharing a large partnership with his brother, who scored 95.In 1998 he was selected to play in a three-day match for a Mashonaland Under-19 side at Harare South, but this was to be his only taste of representative cricket. The following year he left school and found a job with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union coaching, having successfully past a coaching course at Harare Sports Club. He coached in Masvingo before returning to Harare, moving to Kutama College in Norton.He joined Old Georgians Sports Club in 1997, his best performance being three for 11 in eight overs. He has now moved to Country Club, which is clearly below his level. He has also played winter cricket for Enterprise, with five wickets for 20 runs as his best performance. His ambition, though, has always been to play representative cricket, and this led him to apply successfully to join the CFX Academy in 2002.His main strength as a batsman is off his legs, while he bowls predominantly in-swing to right-handers. He does not consider himself much of a batsman and at present is content to bat low in the order. His usual fielding positions are mid-off and fine leg.He feels that he owes most to his parents for his career. "They were always picking us up," he says. "My dad is always behind us’ if we have any problems, he will help us. I won’t say he’s a cricket fan himself but he is always there to help with our mental make-up." On the coaching side he pays tribute to Bill Flower.Cricket heroes: Andy Flower.Toughest opponents: So far, Hamilton Masakadza.Personal ambitions: "If everything goes well I would like to be in the Zimbabwe A side."Proudest achievement so far: When I received the Man of the Match playing first-league cricket for Old Georgians, when I took three for 11.Best friends in cricket: Innocent Chinyoka and my brother.Other qualifications: "I’m working to get my computer qualifications."Other sports: At school athletics, soccer, rugby, a bit of tennis.Outside interests: "I just enjoy hanging around with my friends."Views on cricket:

He made his QCA first grade debut in 1995-96. He represented Queensland Under 17 in 1994-95 and 1995-96, and Queensland Under 19 in 1996-97, at the conclusion being selected in the Australian Youth team to tour Pakistan. In 1997-98 he was a member of the Australian Youth team for the Youth World Cup held in South Africa in January 1998. He has appeared for Queensland Colts from 1996-97 to 1999-00; and has represented Queensland Academy of Sport. He was an attendee of the Australian Cricket Academy in 1998-99. In January 2001 he made his One Day debut for Queensland, playing against Victoria in Brisbane. Schools – Ferny Grove State; Ferny Grove High.

It certainly has been a camp with a difference. After a morning session of nets, fielding practice and stretching, John Wright adjourned his wards to an indoor session of tape viewing in the afternoon. Using aids of this kind is not synonymous with Indian cricket, but Wright seems to bringing about a metamorphosis.On the subject of changing things, high on Wright’s priorities is India’s away record. Despite being champs at home, the away victory remains as elusive as ever. The Zimbabwe tour provides an ideal opportunity to set the record straight.To achieve this, India are likely to opt for a bowling attack that has room for as many as five seamers. The trio of Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan are certainties to make the trip. With two warm up games to be played in the course of the Test series, India need to have enough hands on board in the fast bowling department. Reetinder Singh Sodhi might squeak in on virtue of the fact that he is likely to play the one-dayers. With Robin Singh not being selected in the initial probables list, the young Punjab all-rounder is a strong contender for a place. The slot for the fifth mediumpacer is still wide open, with Debashish Mohanty and Ashish Nehra being the contenders. If indications here in Bangalore are to be believed, it seems as though the Delhi left arm mediumpacer might well get the nod.Skipper Sourav Ganguly, speaking to reporters recently has given strong indications that Sameer Dighe will be the man doing the job behind the stumps. The Mumbai stumper’s cause has been amply helped by the fact that the two other keepers in the squad, Deep Das Gupta and Ajay Ratra have very little experience between them. With a vital unbeaten 22 that saw India to victory on the final day of the decisive third Test against Australia at Chennai in March, Dighe seems to have done enough to catch the eye of the selectors.The opening batsmen, Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das will lose no sleep this evening. The pair have done more than enough to be guaranteed of their places. With almost no competition for the openers’ slots, Das and Ramesh will make the tour to Zimbabwe. In the middle order, India’s greatest strength, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly will call the shots. Hemang Badani has done well in the few chances he has got in limited overs cricket, and has impressed with his levelheadedness.No prizes for guessing who the number one spinner will be. With 32 wickets in the three match series against Australia, Harbhajan Singh is easily the strike bowler of the lot. Anil Kumble, still out with a shoulder injury has had an uneven record – doing exceptionally well at home while flattering to deceive abroad. Whether Harbhajan Singh will go the same way remains to be seen. The Punjab offspinner however, can take heart from the fact that the Zimbabwe batting line up has plenty of left handers in it. As during the series against Australia the second spinner’s place is still very much up for grabs.With only two of the five national selectors in Bangalore on Wednesday, one day before the final 15 is selected, indications are clear that the team is unlikely to be drastically different from the one that played against Australia.

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, believes Alastair Cook’s wealth of experience at international level gives him a head start after taking over the Test captaincy from Andrew Strauss who retired from professional cricket on Wednesday.Cook, who has been England’s one-day captain since last year, will take charge for the first time on the tour of India which starts in October and already has 83 Tests to his name.”He is unquestionably England’s most experienced leader to have got the job,” Vaughan told ESPNcricinfo . “He has played 83 Test matches for England. When I got the job I had played 31, Straussy had got the job when he played 50, Nasser Hussain got the job when he had played 47. Even if Cook is still a young boy he is the most experienced guy to ever have taken the role. So he should be in a great position to lead the team.”Strauss’ retirement was the latest instalment of a difficult year for England who are also having to deal with the ongoing Kevin Pietersen stand-off. The Test side has lost six of 11 matches this year to concede the No. 1 ranking to South Africa cumulating in the recent 2-0 series loss to them. However, Vaughan said the basis of English cricket remained solid and there was no need for Cook to press the panic button.According to Vaughan, who was handed the captaincy in 2003, after Nasser Hussain called time on the role after the first Test against South Africa at Edgbaston, most captains assume the captaincy job in equally “tricky” situations. Vaughan led England for five years, starting with the onerous task of phasing out some of his senior team-mates to allow the “new generation” help him reach his goal.”Whenever you get the job you never get in a great circumstance,” he said while promoting the Extreme Sailing Series in Cardiff. “I got the role when there were a lot of senior players around and clearly that transition of bringing in new players has to happen.”So I had to kind of oversee how we were going to rid of the legendary or senior guys who had performed well for England for a number of years and bring a new generation and change the mentality of the team. We had lost to Australia for many, many series. I had to change the mentality of beating the great Australian side. That was my role.”

Who is the right partner for Cook?

The right man to occupy the vacant opening slot left behind by Strauss should be a specialist opener according to Michael Vaughan instead of a middle-order player being moved up.

There has been discussion that one of Jonathan Trott, the current No. 3, or Ian Bell should go alongside Cook. Such a move, Vaughan cautioned, could be counter-productive. “I have heard rumours about Trott or even Bell to move up and open the batting,” he said. “I would advise them to pick an opening batsman, who has done it from an early age. The best openers in the game historically come from people who have done all their lives. Cook and Strauss did that as little boys.”

Another reason Vaughan felt the move could backfire was because an opening batsman generally was more adept at moving down order whereas a middle-order batsman can struggle to settle against the new ball.

“You can go from opening to No.3, but, I am not so sure you can move in time from middle order to open. It is a very specialist position so I would advise them to pick who they feel is the best opening batsman to go with Cook and leave the experience in the middle order. So Trott and Bell, we need those kind of players in the middle of the innings particularly in the parts of the world like India.”

Similarly, it was a difficult time when Strauss took over in the midst of the Pietersen-Peter Moores dispute in 2009. Despite such incidents, Vaughan stressed, England have always held the advantage of having a ready back-up in place. “When Straussy got the role there was a fall-out between Pietersen and Peter Moores, but there was a still a good element of players around. There has been a system for a while now, what I describe as a conveyor belt where England would keep producing players.”And now Cook gets the role again in a tricky circumstance: England have lost six in their last eleven Tests, the Pietersen situation, how does he manage that, only he knows best how to manage that. It is actually good because you can start from afresh and move forward.”Paying tribute to Strauss, Vaughan called him a “good captain,” someone who would always fall in the bracket of the best men to lead England this generation. Equally impressive for Vaughan was the timing of Strauss’ retirement.”The respect side was always there,” Vaughan said. “The way he dealt with people was outstanding. The way he dealt with media was outstanding. And he has won games for England and managed to score runs as a captain. He is right up there with the captains of last 20 years. Andrew Strauss would be in that group that got mentioned quite often. He has done a good job and he has gone out at the right time.”It was Vaughan the captain who handed Strauss his Test cap on debut against New Zealand at Lord’s. A decade later Strauss finished an illustrious career standing next to Vaughan among the most successful Test captains for England. Vaughan had 26 wins alongside 11 losses during his 51-match tenure while Strauss had 24 wins and 11 losses in the 50 Tests at the helm. Yet, according to Vaughan, neither man was destined to be a leader.”I certainly did not think on my debut I would captain England, never mind going on to lead England 51 times and win 26 of those Tests,” Vaughan said. ” I never even expected that. And I never expected Andrew Strauss to have 50 Tests as captain when I gave him the Test cap. When I retired in 2008 Kevin Pietersen got the role and I did not see an opportunity for Strauss to get the job. But it came out of circumstance.”Vaughan called Strauss selfless, a modern leader. “He is very self-deprecating, always looked out for others and the team before himself. That is what makes a good leader in this era, someone who really looks at the rest before he looks at himself. That is really good.”On the August 30, Michael Vaughan is making his way down to Cardiff for the Extreme Sailing Series, Extreme 40 Catamaran race weekend. Raced by many of the world’s best sailors, including Ian Williams the skipper of the GAC Pindar team and three tims World Match Racing Tour champion, the race will take place on Cardiff bay over four days with the event open to the public.