Michael Vaughan believes England must win trophies to justify the hiring of Kevin Pietersen as a white-ball coach, acknowledging the appointment as a significant risk due to Pietersen's limited prior coaching experience.
Pietersen, a former teammate of Vaughan's from the 2005 Ashes-winning side, begins his role as a specialist limited-overs mentor on Monday. This comes at a time when England's white-ball teams have achieved considerable success, recently holding the world No. 1 ranking in Twenty20 internationals and securing series wins in one-day formats against Sri Lanka and India.
Vaughan described the move as "quirky" and a "risk," but highlighted Pietersen's extensive knowledge of batting, winning, and playing at high intensity. "There's no-one been better in my time playing for England. He'll add that," Vaughan stated.
He also commented on the selection of high-profile personalities within England's backroom staff, suggesting that this approach, favored by Rob Key, necessitates a strong return in terms of trophies. "They've got to start winning trophies, to justify all these decisions and, let's be honest a huge amount of money spent," Vaughan commented.
Despite Pietersen's contentious departure from the England setup in 2014, Vaughan expressed happiness at his return to English cricket, feeling Pietersen was not fairly treated in the past. "I was actually surprised they’ve brought him into the white-ball set-up. I thought the Test team would have approached him," Vaughan admitted.
In other cricketing matters, Vaughan identified fast bowler Ollie Robinson as a key threat for Australia in the upcoming Ashes series. Robinson's recent Test performances this summer yielded 28 wickets across four outings at a low cost. Vaughan praised Robinson's natural rhythm and effectiveness, particularly in UK conditions, while acknowledging the challenge he might face with different balls and conditions in Australia. "I wouldn’t want to face him," Vaughan said, "And the Aussies will know next summer they’ll have to try and overcome him."
Separately, Marcus Trescothick, interim head coach, suggested that England's current focus is on developing an elite fast bowling attack rather than preparing bowler-friendly pitches, a strategy evident in recent series wins. Trescothick indicated that planning for the Ashes is premature, with an important series against South Africa on the horizon and the arrival of new Test coach Stephen Fleming.
Vaughan also weighed in on the batting order for the South Africa tour, advocating for Emilio Gay to continue opening the batting despite not yet scoring a Test century. He believes Gay has shown potential at the international level and that maintaining him in his natural opening position is key. "Emilio Gay is an opening batter, so I would stay with him for a period," Vaughan concluded.