Michael Vaughan factfile

© Getty Images

1974: Born in Eccles, Manchester, October 29.

1992-93: Tours with England Under-19s in India.

1993: Makes Yorkshire debut and is voted Cricket Society's most promising young cricketer.

1993-94: Captains England Under-19s in Sri Lanka.

1994: Makes 1,066 runs in his first full season of first-class cricket. Captains England Under-19s in home series against India.

1994-95: Tours India with England A.

1995: Awarded county cap.

1996-97: Again an England A tour member, this time in Australia.

1998-99: Captains England A in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

1999-2000: Makes his Test debut for England against South Africa at Johannesburg.

2000: A recipient of one of the first batch of central contracts, a broken bone in his hand rules him out of the two-Test series against Zimbabwe.

2000-01: Tours with England in Pakistan and Sri Lanka but plays in just one Test - the series decider in Colombo - because of a calf strain.

2001: Hits maiden Test century in the Old Trafford Test defeat to Pakistan. Helps Yorkshire win their first County Championship title for 33 years.
However, a knee injury rules him out of the entire Ashes summer.

2001-02: Becomes only the second England player to be given out handled ball.

2002: Astounding run of Test success when he makes 115 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Misses the ICC Champions Trophy to have an operation on his troublesome knee.

2002-03: Returns in time to be fit for the start of the Ashes series and makes 177 on the first day of the second Test at Adelaide and adds another century at Melbourne, 145, his sixth of an amazing year.
Records two half-centuries in five World Cup innings.

2003: Wisden Cricketers' Almanac breaks with tradition for the 140th edition, placing a black and white photograph of Vaughan over the famous yellow jacket to mark his phenomenal achievements. He is also named as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year.

May 6: Named captain of England's one-day team.

July 28: Appointed new England Test captain after Nasser Hussain steps down.

September - Although he struggles for form with the bat, Vaughan's first experience of Test captaincy ends on a reasonably high note as England draw series with South Africa 2-2.

November 14 - Scores 105 over seven-and-a-half hours and 333 balls to help England save the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy. His monumental innings was his 10th Test century and his first as captain.

2004: Victory within three days secures England's first Test series win in the Caribbean for over 30 years as an eight-wicket success in Barbados wraps up the series.

May - Misses first Test against New Zealand after twisting right knee while batting in the Lord's Nursery Ground nets.

July-August - Whitewash of West Indies in
four-Test series.

December - England win eighth consecutive Test with defeat of South Africa.

2005: January 26 - A draw in the fifth Test at Centurion Park sees England complete a memorable 2-1 series win under Vaughan.

August - Under Vaughan's leadership, England bounce back to edge out Australia in a two-run victory at Edgbaston in the second Ashes Test.
Records the highest individual score in the series with 166 in the draw at Old Trafford.

September - Vaughan leads England to historic Ashes series win with a rain-affected draw in the fifth Test, thanks to centuries from Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.

November 7 - Injures knee and retires hurt on day two of the second tour match against Pakistan A, which England lose by six wickets.

November 11 - Ruled out of first Test in Multan, Marcus Trescothick taking over as captain.

November 20 - Returns for second Test in Faisalabad which England draw.

December 6 - Announces he is to undergo exploratory knee surgery and will miss the
five-match one-day series in Pakistan.

2006: February 27 - Having been cleared to lead England on the tour to India, Vaughan is ruled out of the first Test and returns home from Nagpur after a recurrence of his knee injury.

March 2 - Ruled out of entire series against India following a visit to his specialist.

May 29 - Returns to action in Yorkshire's C&G Trophy game against Scotland, scoring 67. Comeback too late to feature in either Test or one-day series against Sri Lanka.

June 22 - Unable to field during Yorkshire's County Championship match against Sussex at Arundel.

June 29 - Told he needs a fourth operation on his knee, ruling him out for four to six months.

July 3 - Undergoes operation.

July 6 - Ruled out of entire Ashes campaign in Australia.

November - Flies out to Perth with England Academy squad to step up rehabilitation.

November 29 - Returns to competitive action, making a seven-ball duck in the Academy's 40-run defeat by Western Australia 2nd XI in Perth.

December 6 - Scores nine against the same opponents in a six-wicket loss.

December 21 - Selected in the one-day squad for the Commonwealth Bank Series with Australia and New Zealand.

2007: January 6 - Named captain for the Commonwealth Bank Series.

January 17 - Ruled out of one-day match against Australia after tearing his left hamstring in a game against New Zealand.

February 8 - Ruled out of the remainder of the series.

April - Returns to captain England at the World Cup, but struggles with the bat and England exit at the Super Eight stage.

May 3 - Suffers broken finger after being struck by Stuart Clark while batting for Yorkshire in the LV County Championship game against Hampshire.

May 25 - After missing first Test, returns for the second, scoring his first Test century for almost two years.

June 11 - Becomes England’s most successful captain in terms of wins with 60-run victory over West Indies in the third npower Test at Old Trafford to seal the four-match series 2-0.

June 18 - Stands down as captain of the England one-day side, but insists he is keen to carry on playing.

August 13 - England lose their first home Test series since 2001 at the hands of India.

September - Named in ICC's Test team of the year.

2008: January - England lose Test series in Sri Lanka to relinquish second place in the ICC Test rankings.

February-March - First overseas Test series win for England in three years in New Zealand.

May-June - Black Caps defeated once again at home.

July-August - England lose two of the first three Tests against South Africa to suffer a home series defeat for the second summer in succession. Vaughan struggles badly with an average of just eight.

August 3 - Announces he is to step down as captain.

September 9 - Awarded central contract by the ECB for 2008/09.