So Michael Vaughan is still part of Team England. He has been given a 12 month central contract and is, according to chief selector Geoff Miller, ‘integral’ to next summer’s Ashes plans. The selectors believe the former skipper can produce significant runs. Is this a realistic expectation?

He is of course capable of being a fine top order batsman, but Vaughan cannot rely on the memory of his golden year six seasons ago. Steve Harmison enjoyed a similarly brief foray to the top of the world rankings and lived off the achievement until he was dropped and sent back to county cricket.

Vaughan will not be able to enjoy the same rehabilitation. Due to the condensed tours and emphasis on One Day cricket, there is scant opportunity for him to break up the revitalised Test team in India and West Indies.

A weak Sri Lanka team kick off the season and then the Aussies are in town; it would be a surprise if the selectors’ blind loyalty to the other out-of-form batsmen suddenly dissipated. Even If Andrew Strauss’s form continues to slide, Vaughan hardly looks in the nick to demand inclusion. I would not select him as my cricket bet to top the series run charts next summer.

The truth is we should not expect him to be knocking on the selectors’ door. They and the man himself will look at his non-captaining average of 50.98, or his eight tons in 37 innings against India and Australia; the realists will look at his passing of 50 twice in his last 17 knocks and an average of 34.45 since the 2005 Ashes.

Miller talked about Vaughan’s impact on that series. It was indeed significant, but principally came from his captaincy. His expertise as leader got him back into the team after his knee problems and has kept him there ever since.

Vaughan’s currency should now only be weight of runs, but it seems his status as former captain is as influential. His replacement might like the idea of having England’s most successful skipper in the dressing room now, but a 50 Test veteran ten matches into his own reign will probably feel different when the curtain goes up at Cardiff.

On relinquishing the captaincy Vaughan demanded that he be treated like everyone else. That notion does not come into the selectors’ discussions: all players are equal but former captains are more equal than others.