mvaughan

Kevin Pietersen is on a roll. Having gone 38 ODI innings without a century, spread over three years, he scored his second in two matches yesterday. And if his ton on Sunday felt a bit like a pressure-free exhibition of batting given the nature of the run-chase, yesterday's was a proper match-winning innings with England really up against it for the majority of the chase. It was almost a case of 'KP versus Pakistan' and maybe that's when he's at his best. I'm sure he'd tell you that was one of the most satisfying knocks he's ever played in ODI cricket. Maybe the penny has dropped with Kevin Pietersen and he's worked out how to score an ODI ton as an opener. I never managed to do that. I either opened or batted at three and got to 50 often enough but, after that, I wasn't really sure how...

The likes of [b]Alastair Cook[/b] and Jonathan Trott will be glad to be home already. They got absolutely thrashed in the ODI series and I'm sure they won't have been in the mood for a one-off T20 match against an Indian side high on confidence and littered with in-form players. The irony of it is that it's England, not India, who are the T20 World Champions and the number one ranked side in the world. But we must put that into context. For starters England have played very few T20 matches in the sub-Continent and if their ODI record is anything to go by, if they'd played many more I'm not sure that they would be top of the pile. Then we need to remember the manner of England's World Cup win. They played the whole tournament with virtually the same XI (they had no injuries) and chased...

The fact that the ECB saw fit to leave KP out shows, firstly, that England have got a very good squad with competition for every position. That was reinforced by the batting performance in the absence of both Pietersen and Eoin Morgan on Tuesday night. There has been talk that Morgan's injury will boost India, but he wasn't missed at the Rose Bowl and you have got to remember that there are still players in the team who have plenty to prove in the one-day format; from Alastair Cook to Ian Bell to Craig Kieswetter. I think this series was a good opportunity to 'rest' Pietersen; I'm not convinced he is a shoe-in anyway, with an average of 20-odd over the past two years. And you'd think that if anyone needs a rest it would be one of the bowlers. Put it this way, the ECB wasn't disappointed...

[b]It's the second day and England are already out of sight but in a rain shortened Test do the home side have the time to win? Michael Vaughan has an idea.[/b] Betfair customers may make the draw odds-on at 1.47 but I am a confident backer in a fourth and final win for England to round off a Test series they have dominated. And I see it all happening in classic Test style on the final afternoon of the fifth day at The Oval. For me, the second day has been a microcosm of the series. England have been positive, while India have disappointed. Centurions [b]Ian Bell[/b] and, in particular,[b] Kevin Pietersen[/b] have been exceptional. They have concentrated and played in the bubble, doing what they have to do, with Pietersen getting the team going by playing quick and forcing...

[b]England go into the fourth and final Test looking for a series clean sweep. With fortunes unlikely to improve for the beleaguered tourists, Michael Vaughan expects another victory for Andrew Strauss' men.[/b] England were [b]absolutely devastating[/b] in their third Test victory over India and, with the fourth Test set to get under way on Thursday, the tourists will be feeling thoroughly demoralised. [b]England[/b] have the momentum, the depth and ability to make it a 4-0 clean sweep series win and, at a generous 2.64, I will certainly be backing them to do so. If the clouds are out above the Oval, which they may be on day one, then the ball could seam and swing but I struggle to see 20 wickets in this Indian attack. Saying that, I do anticipate a longer game this time. India's...

I said before the first ODI that I thought[b] England[/b] looked a good side on paper. They have an aggressive opener in Craig Kieswetter, a devastating match-winner in[b] Kevin Pietersen[/b], a resourceful finisher (Eoin Morgan), a world class spinner (Graeme Swann) and in the form of Jimmy Anderson a seam bowler who can exploit swinging conditions. That's the backbone for a very capable ODI team. But that's not to say that the 11 we saw play on Tuesday will necessarily be mainstays in the team over the next couple of years, or even for the remainder of the summer. Just ask [b]Paul Collingwood[/b]. For so many years he was virtually the first name on the team-sheet and right now he's out of the selectors' thoughts altogether. Injuries and loss of form mean changes are common in modern-day...

I saw no reason why [b]England[/b] went into the T20 match on Saturday as favourites and I'll say the same about this match. The last time these two met was admittedly in Sri Lankan conditions but a ten-wicket defeat in any circumstances represents a huge gulf in quality. England were ok at the last World Cup with inspired performances against both South Africa and India in particular but the brand of cricket they played simply wasn't in the same league as that of Tuesday's opponents or eventual winners India. The surprise for me is that there doesn't seem to be a definite plan to change the way the team plays. It's almost as if they've decided that there was nothing wrong with the approach at the [b]last World Cup[/b] and that, if they carry on doing the same thing again, they'll...