Fred-alo and Woolmer’s ghost derailed campaign, Mr Vaughan!

By Kowalski

Sunil Gavaskar once described them as "Champion Whingers", a team which would give any excuse under the sun to cover-up for their shortcomings and Michael Vaughan's latest explanation for England's dismal World Cup campaign kind of justifies the tag!

Believe it or laugh, Vaughan thinks Andrew Flintoff 's drunken night-out on a pedalo after England's loss to New Zealand in their opening group match affected the team morale so badly that their whole planning for the tournament went off the track.

"You have to be honest. The Fred-alo incident did affect the team. It did affect morale. Those incidents are bound to affect team spirit. Suddenly you've got players who have no freedom left. I like to see players enjoy themselves but no one would dare go out after that incident - and you can't create any spirit then.

"That incident changed the whole atmosphere in the camp. We went into the New Zealand game with a really good attitude but we didn't play well and after Fred-alo we just started taking it all too seriously. That might sound silly but everyone was too tense and desperate. There was no escape - and even on the field you have to be pretty free, especially in one-day cricket."

OK, Freddie was a bit, alright terribly, out of form at the World Cup and the whole episode didn't help his cause in anyway but then somebody should remind Mr Vaughan that cricket is a team game.

Remember how the Aussies won the 2003 edition after being rocked by the Shane Warne Doping Scandal.

Vaughan doesn't stop at that, he thinks Bob Woolmer's death, yup it was not a murder after all also bogged down his lads.

"In the World Cup I was more tense than I've ever been as a captain. Duncan [Fletcher] was more tense than he'd ever been as a coach. And sometimes the captain and coach have to look at the way they're acting because the team follows. I didn't captain as well as I should've done because of the pressure I put myself under. I'd openly admit that. But I couldn't switch off because away from the field there was so much going on - with Bob Woolmer and Fred-alo."

Come on Mr Vaughan, Freddie has taken enough flaks for drowning his sorrows – and himself, almost -- and please Woolmer dying in Kingston couldn't have scared you so much at St Lucia that you forgot how to put bat to a ball !

Photo: BBC