Anderson says Vaughan made him feel ‘isolated’

England fast bowler James Anderson has criticised the leadership style of Michael Vaughan, claiming the 2005 Ashes-winning skipper “was not as good a captain as others made out”.

Anderson was full of praise for his first England captain, Nasser Hussain, but felt Vaughan lacked the ability to talk to his team as individuals and left him feeling “alone and isolated” when he needed support.

Writing in his autobiography, an excerpt of which was published in a Sunday newspaper, the Lancashire paceman said of Hussain: “Our relationship was good on and off the field. The same could be said of my relationship with Michael Vaughan, captain during my early England years, since his retirement. Unfortunately, despite our cordiality now, I didn’t enjoy Vaughan as a captain.

“As a young fast bowler, you need to know that your captain has his arm around your shoulder, metaphorically. Unfortunately, that is not something I ever felt under Vaughan. I actually felt alone and isolated.

“Prime example of that was my recall for the fourth Test against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2005. I had spent the first three Tests on tour out of favour and, because I had been so far removed from selection, I wasn’t even thinking about playing.

“When preferred to Simon Jones, I was underprepared. It was five months since my last first-class action. I didn’t bowl very well. Vaughan asked: ‘What’s up, mate? Radar gone?’

“’Yeah, I think it has,’ I said, desperate for some backing. All I received was a pat and an instruction to ‘keep going’.”

Anderson, 30, continued: “A good captain should know how to talk to his team as individuals. I don’t think Vaughan ever had that in him – a major reason I’ve not held him in as high regard as others have. He was captain of a truly great team in 2005.”