Wisden overview
From the moment he faced up to his first ball in Test cricket, on a damp flyer in Johannesburg with England four wickets down for two runs, it was quite clear that Michael Vaughan had what it took to succeed at the highest level. Correct and obdurate, with a priceless ability to forget the previous delivery, Vaughan's inhumanly calm aura at the crease drew immediate comparisons with Michael Atherton, the man he eventually succeeded at the top of the order. But, despite the obvious similarities between the two - from their Mancunian heritage to their indifference to sledging - Vaughan soon demonstrated he was more than just a like-for-like replacement. Playing as part of a successful squad certainly helped his development - for two years and four series victories in a row, he flitted on the fringes of the starting line-up, as a combination of injury and Graeme Hick blocked up an end. But once he had made the place his own, Vaughan blossomed magnificently, playing with a freedom of expression that Atherton had never dared to approach. Nirvana duly came in 2002. Batting like a watertight David Gower, with a cover-drive to die for and a punishing pull up his sleeve, Vaughan sparkled his way to 900 runs in seven Tests against Sri Lanka and India, the prelude to a formidable series in Australia in which he became the first visiting batsman for 32 years to top 600 runs. As befits a man who has learnt to throw caution to the wind, Vaughan's only weakness, other than a fear of the nervous 190s, is a Goweresque fondness for the daft dismissal - such as at Bangalore in December 2001, where he became only the second Englishman after Graham Gooch to be given out handled the ball in Tests. Despite the fact that his one-day record at the time scarcely matched up to his impressive Test figures, he was appointed captain of England's one-day side in time for the 2003 home season. Andrew Miller

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