Vaughan to retire after failing to make Ashes

Published on Sunday 28 June 2009 23:14

MICHAEL Vaughan will hold a press conference tomorrow when he is expected to confirm his retirement.

The future of the former England captain has been the subject of speculation since he was left out of England's 16-man Ashes training squad last week.

The 34-year-old, who led England to victory over Australia four years ago, has been unable to reclaim his place since stepping down as skipper last year and his form for Yorkshire this season has not warranted inclusion.

Vaughan met with Yorkshire officials to discuss his retirement yesterday but he remains centrally contracted by the ECB and has issues still to resolve with the governing body.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "Without going over old ground, Michael had set his stall on being picked for the Ashes Tests. When that didn't happen I think it then opened up a different set of thought processes over what happens next."

Vaughan is expected to give a press conference at Edgbaston tomorrow, where England will be preparing for an Ashes warm-up match with Warwickshire.

Vaughan had hoped to be part of that England side but he was omitted from this winter's tours to India and the West Indies and has scored just 147 runs in seven County Championship innings for Yorkshire this season.

Ravi Bopara appears to have established himself as England's regular No 3 and Vaughan was dropped yesterday as Yorkshire lost their Twenty20 Cup match against Derbyshire Phantoms by 37 runs at Headingley.

That decision means Vaughan has probably now played his last game of cricket at the top level.

After making an immediate impression on debut in 1999 in South Africa, Vaughan, England's 600th capped player, went on to play 82 Tests, scoring 5,719 runs and 18 centuries.

&#149 Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds says he is not an alcoholic but has blamed binge drinking for behaviour that caused him to run foul of cricket authorities.

"I'm not proud of the times that I've drunk too much and been rude to someone or broken team rules," Symonds said in an interview with Australian television. "Now I'm out of that environment, that won't happen anymore for those people in that team and for me."

Cricket Australia this month withdrew its one-year contract offer to Symonds, a week after the 34-year-old veteran was sent home from England and the Twenty20 World Cup following another alcohol-related indiscretion. "I'd go out and drink too much, too fast," Symonds admitted. "I'm not an alcoholic. I've been diagnosed as a binge drinker."