Vaughan: We won’t back out of Lord’s war
England captain Michael Vaughan has issued a battle cry to South Africa ahead of the first Test at Lord’s this morning, insisting: We will not be bullied by you.
Relations between the sides have been strained in recent years with visiting captain Graeme Smith having been involved in exchanges with both Vaughan and South African-born batsman Kevin Pietersen in the past.
And with the sides locking horns at Lord’s again this morning for the first of a four-Test series, Vaughan insists his men will be ready for the heat of any battle. “South Africa are a very aggressive in nature, very confident,” he said. “That’s why over the next few weeks there’ll be contests and I’m sure the odd confrontation but that’s Test cricket and why it’s a good Test series and what people want to see.
“As long as we all play in the spirit, and it will be because we’re two teams who respect each other hugely, so it’ll be in the spirit but a hard contest.”
Vaughan’s recovery from a recent knee strain, means England will make Test history when they walk out at Lord’s today, unchanged for the sixth successive match.
But that may change for the second Test at Headingley after all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was invited to join the squad as a net bowler yesterday, so medics can assess his fitness.