Michael Vaughan

Wickman thinks its a crying shame that Mickey V has retired today. By far Wickman's most favourite England Captain since Mike Brearley and the most elegant England bat since Gooch and Stewart Snr killed David Gower off in the 1990s, Vaughany was part of the most successful England set up in Wickman's cricketing lifetime.

That cover drive was simply the most beautiful thing you could get to see on a cricket pitch. And you got to watch it when England were winning! That he managed to get the best out of Harmison, Flintoff and Pietersen tells you that he was a player of some stature. To manage those egos and to lead them to a momentary pinnacle of dominance over one of the finest teams ever to play the game took captaincy to its limits.

The England side has moved on and he was right to call it a day. He can't buy a ton at the moment and Stuart Clark would have destroyed him this summer. It's the right time. Hopefully this will give Bopara the confidence to lead the batting for the next two months and give us the stability in the top order that we've lacked since... well... Vaughany started getting injured.