Michael Vaughan was content – but far from satisfied – as he reflected onEngland’s seven-wicket victory at Port Elizabeth in the opening Test oftheir South African tour
Andrew Miller21-Dec-2004
Michael Vaughan: ‘The best thing is that we haven’t played to the standards we’ve set ourselves, but we’re still 1-0 up’© Getty Images
Michael Vaughan was content – but far from satisfied – as he reflected onEngland’s seven-wicket victory at Port Elizabeth in the opening Test oftheir South African tour. A hard taskmaster at the best of times, Vaughanwarned that his side’s performance had been “shoddy” in places, but sethis sights on taking a 2-0 lead in the series by the time the Durban Testis over and done with next week.”We’re an honest team,” Vaughan told reporters after the match, “and weaccept that we didn’t play to our potential in this match. South Africashould have been there for the taking after Day Two, but we didn’t nail them aswe should have. We’ve been unbeaten all year, so it would be nice to go toDurban and perform to the standard that we’ve set throughout the year.”Vaughan continued: “It’s been a common theme with England teams for years,that when we get on top in a match – and at 20 runs ahead with fourwickets down, we were definitely in command – we’ve often allowed theopposition back into the game. In the end, an 88-run lead was pretty good,thanks to the tail, but we should have been looking at 150 to 200 runsahead. Then it would have been game, set and match.”But it isn’t just hair shirts that hang in Vaughan’s wardrobe, and he wasquick to single out the performances of Andrew Strauss and Simon Jones forspecial praise. “Strauss is a level-headed kind of guy and his attitude isspot on,” said Vaughan of England’s Man of the Match, who sealed therun-chase with an unbeaten 94 this morning. “He never gets too high abouthis successes, nor too low about his failures. Technically he’s prettygood, but more importantly, the mental side of his game is excellent. He’sgoing to be a good player for us for many years if he keeps working as heis.”For the first three days of the match England were in front, but far fromdominant, and it took an inspirational catch by Jones at fine leg toremove South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, and spur the side to greaterdeeds. “All credit to Simon for his catch and his spell of bowling,” saidVaughan. “When Smith and [Jacques] Kallis got in there was a period whenSouth Africa might have got on top, but his outstanding efforts changedthe game.”Simon’s a huge threat with old ball,” he explained. “He getsreverse-swing into the right-handers, and the ball that dismissed Kalliswas a beauty. He’s shown an outstanding attitude since arriving inZimbabwe, where he worked with Troy Cooley [the bowling coach], and hefully deserved his rewards yesterday.”In the end, there was not a huge amount to choose between the team’sperformances, but the key difference was England’s additional experience.Vaughan was especially satisfied by the manner in which his bowlers hadexploited the frailties of South Africa’s middle order. “Even on the firstday when [Jacques] Rudolph and [Boeta] Dippenaar got in, we never allowedthem to get away. Ashley Giles bowled a crucial spell while our seamersrotated from the top end, and then in the second innings, once Smith had gone,we opened the door to attack their inexperience.”Leading into the game, we were under a lot of pressure,” admittedVaughan, after England’s record of seven straight wins had been punctuatedby the defeat against South Africa A at Potchefstroom. “For us, the firstday was crucial, especially after losing the toss. All we wanted was agood performance to put South Africa on the back foot, and at 270 for 7 wegot that, despite a gusty wind that made bowling very hard.”Ultimately Vaughan could have few complaints about his team’s performance,but he urged his players to push their expectations to the limit. “On anindividual basis, we need to set targets for big, big scores. Even Straussin the first innings, if he’s honest, he’d have wanted a score of 180 to200, and likewise [Mark] Butcher should have been aiming at 150, ratherthan 79. You can’t take the mick in this game, as it has a knack of comingback and giving you some funny answers.”The best thing is that we haven’t played to the standards we’ve setourselves, but we’re still 1-0 up,” concluded Vaughan. “In fact, forperiods here we were quite shoddy. South Africa are a good side and theyare sure to come back strongly, but we’re up for the challenge. They’llwant to hit us hard at Durban, but we’ll keep ourselves honest, and keepup the pressure.”