He may well return, of course, but for now it seems fair to ask: how will you remember Michael Vaughan? Winner of the Ashes? Possessor of the next-best cover-drive after God? Owner of a dodgy knee? Puller of back-of-a-length balls? Captain? Batsman? Enigma?
It seems weird just asking the question. As Geoff Miller pointed out yesterday, England might now be leading this series. But South Africa batted two days for a draw at Lord's, chased down 281 at Edgbaston thanks to one of the great fourth-innings knocks by Graeme Smith, and - hey presto - we are talking about Vaughan in the past tense. Suddenly, the Ashes feels like much less than 11 months away.
Vaughan himself is hard to place - as batsman and captain. In both cases, he enjoyed a golden spell that glistened all too briefly and left you wondering which bit was the exception and which the rule. With the bat his annus mirabilis stretched from May 2002 to Jan 2003, when he scored over 1,500 runs at an average of 76 and hit seven hundreds, three of them in Australia. As leader, 15 of his 26 Test wins came between March 2004 and August 2005. Much of the rest was anti-climax.
When Geoff Boycott was asked on the radio on Sunday afternoon where he placed Vaughan in the pantheon of English captains, his answer sounded ungenerous. Test matches are so frequent these days, he ecky-thumped, that records mean less than they once did. It felt like an unworthy epitaph for the man who won more Tests as England captain than anyone, regained the Ashes after 18 years, and on his day remains the easiest of batsmen on the eye. But - as often with Boycott - there was a kernel of truth behind the bluster.
The reality is that 20 of Vaughan's 26 wins came against either Bangladesh (four), New Zealand (six) and West Indies (10). That leaves four against South Africa and two against Australia. Remarkably for a captain regarded as resourceful, he failed to win a single Test out of 11 against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is a gaping hole on his CV.
His batting never fitted easily into any one category, despite 18 Test hundreds. He could be glorious (Trent Bridge 2007) and gormless (Bangalore 2001); gritty (Kandy 2003) and gargantuan (Sydney 2003). But, after making twin hundreds against West Indies at Lord's in 2004, he was generally disappointing: 63 Test innings after that brought him only five hundreds and nine fifties. After that tour of Australia he was averaging nearly 51; now the figure is 41, lower than it has been for six years.
Vaughan touched greatness in both disciplines (and a genuinely great off-break to Sachin Tendulkar at Trent Bridge in 2002 made you wish his knee allowed him to bowl more) without ever booking in for bed and breakfast. He was, by his own admission, helped by one of the best fast-bowling quartets England ever had, and - in Duncan Fletcher - by a deep-thinking coach he still feels indebted to. Yet he had the guts, the nous, the ambition and the respect to make the most of the tools at his disposal.
Can he come again as a batsman? Critics are quick to conclude that his eye has gone, which would be unusual at the age of 33, but not unheard of. If he breaks the habit of a lifetime and scores runs for Yorkshire - who have six four-day games between now and the end of the season - he may yet make it to India and West Indies. And then, who knows? One more crack at Australia from the safer haven of No5, where he could melt more easily into the background and still allow Kevin Pietersen the benefit of his tactical expertise? It's a tempting thought. But for now a heartfelt "thanks for the memories" feels like the most appropriate sentiment.
Extract taken from The Spin, theguardian.com/sport's weekly look at the workld of cricket. Subscribe now, it's free.
