England may bring back Vaughan

By Ted Corbett

CAPE TOWN, JAN. 1. England, jubilant at its success on a tour that was expected to be a disaster, will probably make two changes for the fourth Test of the series against South Africa which begins at Newlands tomorrow.

The decision will hinge on a conversation after nets today between Nasser Hussain, the captain, and Michael Vaughan, the batsman who missed the third Test with a bruised finger but who has already established such a reputation in the camp that he is being regarded as an England captain of the future.

``Vaughan had a net with Alan Mullally, who has been out with a side injury. My understanding is that Mullally went in full bore and that Vaughan met every ball with confidence. So a chat with Vaughan will tell me how his finger feels now and how Mullally bowled. After that the coach Duncan Fletcher and I can sit down to pick the side,'' Hussain said.

Hussain will also challenge his young players to grow up in the Test he describes as the most important of the series. ``No-one will be happier than me if Vaughan, or Chris Silverwood, or Andrew Flintoff or Chris Adams makes a century or takes five wickets to win us the match. None of the youngsters have let themselves down on this tour but now it is time for them to show if they can win a match. I would love to see one of them being clapped on the back by his team-mates and told `Well done' at the end of this match. It is how players make their reputation. I can remember Rahul Dravid coming to England and making a few 30s and 40s and then suddenly producing a century. We all thought `that is a player.' Now I want to see it from my lads.''

Hussain, a captain now thoroughly at ease with himself and, as we say in the north of England ``loving every minute of it'', will also warn his younger players that they can let themselves down badly in the last two matches of the series. ``Michael Atherton, the historian of the party, keeps telling me that time after time, sides go wrong at the end of a tour. In this match we will find out who has the mental toughness for Test cricket, who can dig deep to find reserves when the going gets hard. We can come out with a good result or we can be on the way to a 3-0 defeat. It happened after Graham Gooch was hurt in West Indies in 1990 and I don't want that.''

The bowler most likely to produce a big performance at Newlands is Darren Gough, the premier fast bowler in the country, undoubtedly stung by an attack in a newspaper from Bob Willis, who took 325 Test wickets as well as leading England in 18 Tests. Willis heard Gough saying that the pitch made bowling ``a waste of time'' and said he should not be playing if that was his attitude. ``All I know is that when he was injured last summer I missed him,'' said Hussain. ``He will love it here because there will be a big crowd and Darren loves the spotlight. We just tell him he is our top bowler and he responds. He might bowl a couple of long hops in an over but he is also likely to produce a nasty reverse swinging yorker or even a hat-trick.'' Gough maintained a dignified silence apart from a comment that he was sure Willis ``was not questioning his commitment.''

South Africa is likely to drop the tearaway fast bowler Nantie Hayward and bring back Jonty Rhodes. The pitch is expected to last five days but South Africa will want to step up the pressure on a side which has refused to crack. Hansie Cronje becomes the seventh captain to lead a Test side 50 times after Allan Border (93), Clive Lloyd (74), Arjuna Ranatunga (56), Mike Atherton (52), Viv Richards (50) and Mark Taylor (50).

The teams:

South Africa (from): Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Hansie Cronje (captain), Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Allan Donald, Paul Adams and Nantie Hayward.

England (from): Mark Butcher, Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Vaughan, Alec Stewart, Chris Adams, Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Chris Silverwood, Phil Tufnell and Alan Mullally.

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