Sport

Vaughan pins his hopes on youth power

GROS ISLET (St. Lucia): England has one of the more inexperienced sides at the World Cup, which is something that captain Michael Vaughan thinks will work in its favour.

``A young team can sometimes be surprising and play with no fear,'' Vaughan said on Sunday. ``I see that in some of the younger players that they don't fear many situations and that is what they're going to have to be like over the next few weeks.

``They can't be fearful of facing the world stars we're going to be coming up against, they have got to be really excited about the challenge ahead of them.''

Disappointing run

Since losing to Pakistan in the 1992 final, England has disappointed in the World Cup. It reached the quarterfinals in 1996, and failed to progress from the first round in 1999 and 2003.

And because of that, Vaughan has included the younger and less inexperienced members of the squad in tactical discussions during a week's warm-up in St. Vincent, along with senior squad members, all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood and pace bowler Jimmy Anderson.

``We have an environment where it is not necessarily the oldest player that comes up with the best idea,'' Vaughan told a news conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, ahead of the World Cup's opening ceremony. ``Young players do not have the experience of the guys who have played more games but sometimes fresh is the best.

``The young players in St. Vincent certainly brought a lot to the team in the way they spoke. It is down to the individuals to think on their feet and we hope over the next few weeks that the experience of playing will be invaluable to them.''

All-rounder Ravi Bopara has just played one-limited overs match. Irish-born opening batsman Ed Joyce has only played 12 one-dayers for England, the same as 31-year-old seamer Jon Lewis.

Pace bowler Sajid Mahmood has played 19 one-dayers, while 36-year-old wicket-keeper Paul Nixon only played his first limited-overs international in Januarya and spinner Monty Panesar emerged in 2006.

Unsettled line-up

England won its first one-day title away from home last month, when it beat Australia in the final of the triangular series that also included New Zealand. But its long-term poor run of one-day form is largely down to an inability to stick with a settled line-up.

In the 2006 calendar year alone, England used 30 players in 20 games.

``Only time will tell if we've got enough experience to win the World Cup,'' Vaughan said. ``Experience is a key asset but it was proved a couple of years ago that it's not always the number one thing.

``We haven't got maybe the number of games under our belt that some of the other teams have got, but we do have a fighting quality which showed in the one-day games in Australia. If you get momentum in one-day cricket and get things going your way and get your players used to the conditions and playing right in those conditions, it can take you a long way.''

Will be ready in time

Vaughan successfully tested his injured hamstring in two warm-up games in St. Vincent, and while he limited his fielding to around 20 overs, he's confident he'll be ready for England's opening match against New Zealand on Friday.

But he's relying on Flintoff's form. In the absence of the injured Vaughan, Flintoff was captain for the morale-sapping 5-0 Ashes Test series defeat to Australia and never produced the outstanding performances that helped England win the Ashes in 2005.

``Andrew Flintoff is a crucial player,'' Vaughan said. ``We're going to need his bowling, batting, fielding, charisma and character to have a good World Cup.''

Best captain

Vaughan is not alone in his opinion. ``He (Vaughan) needs to play for two reasons: he is, I believe, the best captain in international cricket today and also, he is a fine player,'' former England captain Alec Stewart told BBC Radio. ``But more importantly, if he plays and captains, it means Andrew Flintoff can just concentrate on his own performances.

— AP

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