Archie Vaughan to lead England’s Under-19 side in their upcoming youth tour of South Africa later this month.
Archie Vaughan, son of former England captain Michael, is to follow in his father’s footsteps later this month. He has been asked to lead England Under-19s on their tour of South Africa.
Beginning on January 17, England’s Young Lions will play South Africa Under-19s in two youth Test matches and three youth one-day internationals. On this day twenty years ago, Vaughan senior became the first captain of England to win a Test series in South Africa after the end of apartheid.
“I found out that I was going to be captain during the training camp before Christmas and it was a very special moment,” Vaughan, a top-order batter and offspinner, said. “To get the opportunity to represent England at this level is really special in itself, but to lead the team out is something else.”
Vaughan made his county debut in July after signing his first professional deal with Somerset in May. He then became well-known during the team’s Championship run-in at Taunton in September. Together with Jack Leach, he achieved 11 for 140 in the game to defeat Surrey, the league leaders, and momentarily raise the possibility of the team winning its first championship.
He averaged 33.71 with the bat in the Championship while playing for Somerset in four first-class and seven 50-over matches. At the age-group level, he too made an impression, scoring 85 off 83 balls for a Young Lions Invitational XI in a warm-up match against the England Under-19 ODI team, which was led by Andrew Flintoff’s son Rocky Flintoff with 106.
“If someone had told me 12 months ago that I would have forced my way into the Somerset first team and be captaining the Under-19s, I wouldn’t have believed them,” Vaughan added. “It’s happened quickly but I’m going to keep my feet on the ground and work harder and harder.”
With 26 triumphs in 51 Test matches while in charge from 2003 to 2008, including the 2005 Ashes victory, Vaughan’s father went on to become one of the most successful England captains in history.