By IANS,
Melbourne : Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie feels that England should take the help of their Ashes winning captain Michael Vaughan to win back the urn this summer.
Last week the 34-year-old Vaughan was named in a performance squad of 25 from which the Ashes party will be drawn. But he will face tough competition from Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell for a place in the top six.
Gillespie, who has shared the dressing room with Vaughan at Yorkshire, feels that even if Vaughan doesn’t find a place in the squad, he should be ushered onto the coaching staff for this year’s series.
“He is an Ashes-winning captain and England don’t have too many of those blokes over the last 20 years,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by The Age.
The former Australian fast bowler also found himself against a brilliant century from the then England captain at Old Trafford almost four years ago.
“He has a lot of experience winning games of cricket against Australia, he is a match-winner and a guy Australia does respect. We have always respected our opponents, but there are certain players who demand a little bit extra, maybe because they tend to lift against you, and I tend to put guys like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman, and I would put Michael Vaughan in amongst those guys.
“People will say he is old and he’s got bung knees, but I look at it another way – he has played in winning teams and when he is on fire he is as good as anyone going around. He is a very positive influence around the rooms and unless there are young blokes making mountains of runs and demanding selection, I don’t see why England wouldn’t do it,” said Vaughan.
It appears that England captain Andrew Strauss would not mind having Vaughan back, even if it meant having three former captains – in Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen – in the team.