Winning the Ashes has raised the stakes for Andrew Strauss in South Africa this winter, says Michael Vaughan.
High stakes for skipper after successful Ashes summer
"Disaster, total disaster," mutters Michael Vaughan as we sit chatting about England's upcoming tour of South Africa.
And with good reason. The man who gripped the Ashes urn so tightly in 2005 after man-handling the Proteas the previous winter has just spilt canteen coffee over his TV-sleek suit - for the second time in as many minutes.
A mishap indeed but his steely gaze never wanders and for a brief moment I sense a calmness and composure that England skipper Andrew Strauss will do well to replicate against the Proteas this winter.
"Winning in South Africa is a greater challenge than winning the Ashes at home," Vaughan insists. "Miles greater. There's no question about, it, no question.
"It's a lot bigger because South Africa are World No 1 and playing abroad has never been England's strength. Beating the Australians this summer was great - we loved it - but they are not the side they were and England have not reached the top of the pile.
"Strauss has got the added pressure of being an Ashes-winning captain and the team have got the added pressure that on any bad day people will say 'they've got too big for their boots'.
"The likes of Cooky (Alastair Cook) will know that he needs a good tour, as will Colly (Paul Collingwood). There are always question marks about Belly (Ian Bell) while (Graham) Onions will want to kick on. I'd also like to see Luke Wright play at seven rather than Stuart Broad - I think it is a little bit too soon for him to be promoted to number seven.
"I'm interested and intrigued to see how they are going to cope because South Africa are probably a better team now than they have been for a while. They have a toughness in their mentality, they are very driven; they might lack a bit of humour at times but they are definitely tough to play."
Lift
For proof rewind to 1999 when Vaughan walked to the crease as a Test debutant with the Wanderers' scoreboard showing 2-2.
"Before I faced a ball we were 2-4 and in a funny way it kind of released the pressure," he reflects. "I looked back and Hussain, Athers, Butch and Stewart were all in the hutch for one run.
"I was there with Chris Adams, also on debut, and I thought 'crikey, we can't do any worse' and someone had to get a few. I only got 33 but over the years it has been built up. I went back into the dressing room after the game and Nasser said 'look, if you continue to play like that you will play 50 Test matches'. That gave me a huge lift as a player.
"I think we were quite unfortunate with the toss that day because we ended up batting in drizzle. I thought I'd gone back to the Yorkshire League! I've never played in those conditions since!"
Highlights
England slipped up in Johannesburg, losing by an innings and 21 runs, and it was another defeat to the Proteas some eight years later, at Edgbaston, that brought Vaughan's 82-Test career to an end.
South Africa are far more than a book-end to his international career, though; Vaughan played a fifth of his Tests against the Proteas, skippering his country for the first time against the same opposition in 2003 after Hussain relinquished the captaincy, then leading England to their first series victory in South Africa for 40 years.
There's a definite glint in Michael Vaughan's eye as he reflects on one of the most memorable victories of his career on that 2004/05 tour.
"We produced a wonderful performance where we batted positively before Matthew Hoggard ran through them," recalls Vaughan. "That was one of the highlights for me. It was swinging and doing plenty at the Wanderers and it was great to see Hoggy out there doing what he does best."
Brilliant
Hoggard's 7-61 set up a 2-1 series victory and gave England the perfect launch pad to regain the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. The summer of 2008 had plenty to live up to and came up short, although South Africa's five-wicket victory in the third Test - the last of Vaughan's career - still clearly rankles.
"They were the better team in that series and Graeme Smith led them brilliantly," said Vaughan. "Their players all seemed to know the roles they had to play in the team, which is always a sign of a good set of players.
"I always look back to Edgbaston where we lost because that game could easily have gone our way but Smith got them over the line with a brilliant knock.
"It's difficult to say how Strauss stacks up to him (Smith); he's relatively new to the role but has had a good start whereas Smith is the experienced campaigner even though he is still only 28. I expect that if England can get Smith and (Jacques) Kallis out early then they can have a good tour." Otherwise England had better wake up and smell the coffee.
Michael Vaughan's autobiography 'Time to Declare' is out now.
