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Being a die-hard Australian Cricket follower, I just love to hate the Poms. Though, the ‘Land of Angels’ is the originator of the game, cricket was choking a slow death at the start of the 21st century. There was hardly any spark in the England team until a certain name Michael Vaughan came to fore. The composed right-hander set the cricket world on fire with scores of 195 and 197 against India in home series and then he drove and pulled his way to a staggering 633 runs during the 2002-03 Ashes series down under to briefly claim the honours of number one batsman in the world.

Michael gave the same impression as India’s Rahul Dravid when he made his international debut, as a batter with a lot of potential but a stereotype Test cricketer. His attitude on the field looked very mellow and lax and like several others, I personally never imagined the Yorkshireman to become the captain of his country. In 2003, a new era commenced in English cricket with Vaughan taking the top job after Naseer Hussain stepped down.

Frankie, as he is fondly known as, revealed his real character when he was given the responsibility to lead the national side. One can go to the extent to say that England's rise from worst team in the world to Ashes winners directly mirrored Vaughan's career. From an inert cricketer, he transformed into a shrewd leader who took his decisions instinctively. His passion for the fellow players and the team was very apparent as he knitted a formidable outfit during his reign.

Youngsters like Ian Bell, current skipper Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen and many others groomed under the leadership of Vaughan. Even experienced names like Hussain and Thorpe excelled in the twilight stage of their respective careers with “Virgil” as the captain. Standing at mid-off position in the sun-hat, talking to his fast bowlers consistently, inspiring his players with pep-talks to put in more than 100 per cent was trademark of his leadership skills.

His ability to identify a new strategy for outwitting the opposition or bring the best out of his own players was a priceless asset. There was awe as Michael Vaughan led the English team on the field. The camaraderie in the dressing room was excellent and there was an enormous sense of fun and enjoyment that he brought to the team. His partnership with then coach Duncan Fletcher was admirable as the duo strategize England to climb the charts to become the number two Test team in the world.

After a stuttering start, the Poms became literally invincible under Michael’s regime. The team won seven Test matches consecutively in the 2004 season but the following year can be termed as the Hallmark time of Vaughan’s career as his outfit achieved some memorable feats in that particular season. In January 2005, England won a Test series in South Africa for the first time since 1965 and then routed West Indies to win after 34 years in the Caribbean.

‘The High-time of his life’ undoubtedly was the phenomenal Ashes triumphant on home soil. He splendidly guided a well-groomed unit to regain the coveted Trophy after 16years from Australia by beating them 2-1 in September 2005. The success formula for Vaughan was that he used the aggression and flamboyance of players like Flintoff, Pietersen, Simon Jones, Harmison, etc. to their best ability and conquered greatness to turn the aforesaid names into overnight heroes.

Another key factor for England’s success during the 2005 Ashes was Vaughan’s attitude on and off the field. He was outplaying and out-speaking his counterpart in all the departments. The image of Vaughan kissing the urn at The Oval will forever be engraved on the soul of English cricket as million of fans were rewarded deservingly for a decade of mediocrity.

Following are Vaughan’s comments after the victorious Ashes campaign, "We were fortunate, not only to win the series, but to capture the imagination of the nation. Cricket hadn't done that for a long, long time.”

It was very unfortunate as Vaughan was robbed of another chance to take on the Aussies as he missed the 2006-07 Ashes series courtesy of a knee injury. And as we have seen many times, all good things have to come to an end, as Michael’s career faced a downslide after being dropped from the ODI team in 2007. A poor run of form and fate saw him lose his Test captaincy and spot in the team during the 2008 home series against South Africa.

Though he was an inspirational captain in the longer version of the game, the 34-year old didn’t have much of success in the limited-over competition. Vaughan got off to a great start by winning his first ten matches as captain but couldn’t keep on with the consistency mark. And his personal record in ODIs was pathetic too with not even a single ton against his name.

After being ousted from the national team for more than a year, Michael Vaughan finally announced his retirement. His omission from the training squad for the 2009 Ashes series after failing to rediscover his batting form for Yorkshire in county cricket was one of the factors which contributed to his decision to retire.

The Manchester-born cricketer was a marvelous ambassador for England cricket, off the field as well as on it, and someone who genuinely appreciated the generous support he received from the thousands of England supporters who follow the team at home and abroad. Naseer Hussain rates him as England’s best ever skipper while Geoffrey Boycott has even gone to the extent of ranking him alongside Mike Brearley, who many consider as the best English captain ever.

The following stat will justify their comments. Michael is among the top 10 in terms of percentage of Test matches won. Out of the 51 matches he has captained, England has won 26, lost 11and drawn 14, which gives Vaughan a remarkable winning percentage of 50.98.

Other sportsmen should take note of Vaughan’s career and upcoming amateur cricketers must aspire to touch the heights that the Englishman has reached. Anyone who has seen Vaughan play will already have their own memories formed, because now that is all we have left. The back to back hundreds against India, the ball to bowl out Sachin Tendulkar in 2002, dominating the likes of McGrath, Warne and Lee during the 2002-03 Ashes, the running jump into Andrew Flintoff's arms after winning the second Test at Edgbaston in 2005, are few of my favourite memories of Vaughan.

“I would like to be remembered as a player who was nice to watch, who captained with an instinctive nature and wanted his players to enjoy their cricket," said Vaughan after announcing his retirement.