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London: With England on the verge of winning the Ashes series, former captain Michael Vauaghan said the next target for Andrew Strauss and his men should be to beat Australia at their home two years later and become the world number one Test side.
Vaughan said Strauss thoroughly deserves to have an Ashes triumph under his belt but the team under him should not stop there.
"I now hope England can build a team capable of beating Australia in Australia in two years' time and become the best side in the world," Vaughan, England's 2005 Ashes winning captain, wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph.
"We did not manage that in 2005. A variety of circumstances worked against us and the opportunity was missed. We thought everything was rosy. It wasn't. Now the chance has presented itself again and in some ways I believe we are in a stronger position to take our opportunity than we were four years ago," he added.
Vaughan said Jonathan Trott, who hit a ton in his debut Test, added beef to the England middle order and once Kevin Pietersen returned from injury, they would look a formidable side.
"Jonathan Trott's performance on debut is such an encouraging sign and when you slip Kevin Pietersen back into the middle order we look a strong team. Trott's determination, guts and talent at five may well free up Pietersen and take the pressure off his shoulders. Add in Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and we have a core to the team that has years left in the tank," he said.
Vaughan conceded he, like so many other pundits, erred in his demand to get Stuart Broad axed and said the youngster could emerge as a potent all-rounder.
"He now has the potential to be one of England's great cricketers. However, the key is for him not to become sidetracked by celebrity. After such a performance in a massive match he will be a mini-superstar wherever he goes in this country.
"So far he has been very good at focusing on his cricket and if he sticks to that then he can become the best all-rounder in the world. We should drop the comparisons with Andrew Flintoff. He is a different player. Fred was a more structured batsman. Broad is the kind of guy to want to carve out his own niche," Vaughan explained.
The former captain said even if England win the Ashes, it should not be allowed to mask the ills that plague English cricket.
"If England go on to win the Test match and the Ashes, then I really hope people do not think everything is right with English cricket. We will have won the Ashes only because we were able to play slightly better than Australia at one or two key moments.
"That debate should still happen. We should still look at the structure of our domestic competitions, reduce the amount of cricket played and change things for the better. Let's not miss this opportunity," he added.
