We'll learn from this - Vaughan

14 August 2007

Kevin Pietersen epitomised the character England showed on the fifth day © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan shrugged off the concession of England’s unbeaten home Test series run and claimed the development of their new-look side can be accelerated by defeat to India.

The battling draw at Brit Oval saw England defiantly resist India’s efforts to claim a 2-0 series success to finish on 369 for six.

However, failure to fashion an admittedly improbable victory - they were set 500 to win - cost England their unbeaten record stretching back to 2001 and earned the tourists their first series triumph on English soil since 1986.

But rather than focus on the end of a record which began during the early days of Duncan Fletcher’s reign as coach, captain Vaughan believes the character and determination they showed on the final day will serve them well in the future.

“We’ve learned from the experience of playing against this side,” stressed Vaughan, who also lost his first series as a player eight years after making his Test debut.

“We’ve all been asked different questions when we’ve batted about the angles we’ve had to face (from) the left-armers, which is something we haven’t seen before.

“Our bowlers have also been asked to bowl against some of the best batsmen to have played the game and they’ve done it with flying colours in some instances.”

The tourists savour only their third series win in England

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Vaughan insisted: “Over the last two days most people were expecting the England team to lie down and India to win the series 2-0. I hope people have seen that this England team are prepared to fight.

“We’re going through a little bit of a transitional period with the team because of the number of new players and it’s important we come through these type of obstacles when we get asked.

“This was a big moment for the team to see if we could show character and fight, and we’ve done that.”

Rahul Dravid, Vaughan’s opposite number, reflected on India’s third series win in England in the country’s history with considerable pride.

“It’s not very often that we’ve won here and that is a tribute to the whole group,” he said. “I feel very proud to have achieved what we have as a team.

“We played the better cricket in the critical moments and to come away from home and beat England gives us a lot of satisfaction.”