UNITED KINGDOM: CRICKET: England captain Michael Vaughan optimistic about his fitness for World Cup
Record ID:
1542990
UNITED KINGDOM: CRICKET: England captain Michael Vaughan optimistic about his fitness for World Cup
- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: CRICKET: England captain Michael Vaughan optimistic about his fitness for World Cup
- Date: 3rd March 2007
- Summary: (BN12) GATWICK AIRPORT, ENGLAND, UK (MARCH 1, 2007) (REUTERS) IAN BELL WITH BAT MAN WITH KIT FOR CRICKET TEAM MONTY PANESAR WALKING IN HOTEL HALLWAY PLAYERS SIGNING PHOTOS ANDREW STRAUSS SIGNING PHOTOS CLOSE UP ON STRAUSS SIGNATURE WIDE OF ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN ARRIVING AND SITTING DOWN AT PRESS CONFERENCE CAMERA OPERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL VAUGHAN, ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN, SAYING: "Andrew Flintoff will deputise if it gets to a stage where, you know, I have to miss a game, but hopefully it won't come to that I have had a year of talking about injuries, I feel I have deserved a little bit of luck and hopefully this will be the stage where I can of get in the side and sustain a long period in the team." REPORTERS LISTENING WIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL VAUGHAN, ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN, SAYING: "Yeah, I am, you know, as long I get off the plane and don't trip up down the steps, but, you know,I should be fine to play some part in the game against Bermuda, not a full part, you know as I said, gradually build up to more of a part against Australia, leading into that game against New Zealand." WIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL VAUGHAN, ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN, SAYING: "I'd say the dark horses from six weeks ago were us. I'd say the favourites for the tournament is very very difficult to predict with what's happened in one day cricket over the last couple of months, I think, we'll all agree, this World Cup is very wide open for one of the top eight teams to go on and win it. Most teams look strong in areas and weak in others, but I think, as I said before, those teams that can get used to conditions and assess the conditions on every given ground that they play on will have an advantage so... Favourites usually go in.... Australia will be competitive, South Africa...but I wouldn't like to say one team that I really think are the hot favourites to go on and win it." WIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL VAUGHAN, ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN, SAYING: "I wouldn't say a new team, but I would say I think this World Cup could be a great spectacle because there's so many islands, so many different grounds, so many different wickets and it could be the team that you know, assesses the conditions the quickest, assesses what is a good score, what is a defendable score, you know, that's why it should be a great spectacle because I think there is going to be many different conditions, I think some grounds will be swinging conditions, some will be uneven, some will be flat, some will spin, so it's going to be up to us as players to assess all the conditions to make sure we get it right on the day." REPORTERS LISTENING VAUGHAN AT END OF PRESS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 18th March 2007 15:55
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Sport
- Reuters ID: LVAAX3TMUY09PPF0IAS4IRC4G9XA
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: England captain Michael Vaughan said on Thursday (March 1, 2007) he was confident of playing a full part in the World Cup but named Andrew Flintoff as his deputy in case his injury jinx returns.
Vaughan missed a year of international cricket with knee trouble and when he finally returned in the recent one-day tri-series in Australia he was struck down with a hamstring problem.
Flintoff, who stepped into the breach during Vaughan's first absence, presided over a 5-0 Ashes drubbing by Australia before leading the side to victory in the tri-series.
"I have had a year of talking about injuries, I feel I have deserved a little bit of luck and hopefully this will be the stage where I can of get in the side and sustain a long period in the team," Vaughan told a news conference at Gatwick Airport outside London.
Press reports had speculated that Flintoff could be overlooked as the choice for stand-in skipper given the Ashes debacle, but with few other candidates the powerful all-rounder has got the nod.
The England squad fly to St. Vincent on Friday ahead of warm-up games with Bermuda on Monday and world champions Australia on March 9.
The real competition then starts for England with an opening group game against New Zealand on March 16 in St. Lucia before matches with minor nations Canada and Kenya.
Vaughan said he would be involved against Bermuda but has his eye on the New Zealand match, where points amassed could be carried forward to the super eight stage.
"I should be fine to play some part in the game against Bermuda, not a full part, you know as I said, gradually build up to more of a part against Australia, leading into that game against New Zealand," the 32-year-old said.
Vaughan was positive about his own team's chances given their extraordinary comeback to win the tri-series and the return of key batsman Kevin Pietersen, who broke a rib in the first one-dayer in January.
"I'd say the dark horses from six weeks ago were us. I'd say the favourites for the tournament is very very difficult to predict with what's happened in one day cricket over the last couple of months, I think, we'll all agree, this World Cup is very wide open for one of the top eight teams to go on and win it," he said, adding that Australia are likely to be very competitive.
Vaughan said that England's months spent in Australia for the Ashes and One Day Internationals had helped the players acclimatise to hot sun. He hopes this will give them an advantage in the West Indies.
He said the skill players will have to draw on in the World Cup, which will be held in many different islands, will be in assessing each of the individual pitches' - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None