It’s a shame how the fuss and hype around the World T20 has distracted attention from the main event. Now just three days away, the cricket world unites in eager anticipation ahead of what may yet prove the definite event of this remarkable year of sporting achievement.
I refer, as you will have no doubt by now guessed, to Michael Vaughan’s appearance in Strictly Come Dancing, which begins in earnest this Friday.
All those, like us, who hold English cricket dear, are rightly proud of our once-illustrious record in this competition – the very crucible of pro-celebrity ballroom dancing.
Whatever our side’s fortunes on the field of play, we have drawn both inspiration and succour from our boys’ feats on the dancefloor. Time was that, whenever flannels were swapped for sequins, English cricketers would deliver at the very highest level.
Our pre-eminence within Strictly famously reached its apogee during an unforgettable fifteen-month period in 2005-06, when Darren Gough and then Mark Ramprakash secured back-to-back tournament victories. Looking back now from a distance, it seems an even more remarkable achievement than we then realised.
But maybe we set the bar of expectation too high. In an uncanny parallel of post-Ashes winning teams, our dominance could not be sustained. The years of plenty soon gave way to decline and decay.
In 2009, Phil Tufnell could only manage eighth place in Strictly. But worse was to come. In 2011, Dominic Cork elected to dance under a rival code, with ITV’s Dancing On Ice. Lamentably, the former Derbyshire and England all-rounder could fare no better than limp home in a wretched eleventh place.
Our dreams of dancing hegemony lay in ruins, and the charge of complacency – even of arrogance, was hard to deny. Success, our critics were quick to point out, had gone to our heads. And much like West Indies cricket in the 1990s, we had expected dance champions to simply grow on trees, without proper investment in the grass roots.
But now Michael Vaughan has an opportunity to stop the rot. At only 37, and with his knee injuries a thing of the past, ‘Virgil’ is as well placed as any cricketer could be to bring ballroom dancing home after six long years of hurt.
Nothing can be taken for granted, though, and the former England captain will be fully aware of the sheer scale of his task.
Can he get be truly confident of getting his tango and foxtrot working just when he needs them most? And in a strong field, Vaughan must face down a pack of formidable opponents. Johnny Ball looks in ominous form. Sid Owen is always a dangerous customer, and nor will Vaughan take lightly the threats posed by Fern Britton or Lisa Riley.
But cometh the hour, cometh the cricketer-turned-ballroom dancer. He will summon up the spirit of 2005, in the full knowledge that the moment has arrived to seize his destiny.
As Vaughan’s quest for glory begins, this blog stands four square behind him. And in turn we trust that you will all do your duty, as loyal followers of English cricket, and support him to the hilt. Cast your votes like you never have before.
Michael, your day of reckoning has dawned. Only ten weeks of competition, and a compulsory salsa, separate you from quick-stepping your way into the history books to seal your ultimate triumph.
Not for nothing were you a champion at the crease and a titan in the dressing room. You may carry the heavy burden of our hopes and dreams, but deep in our hearts we know you will prevail. Because we believe.
Maxie Allen
with his dodgy knees, no chance.