“I found out that I was going to be captain during the training camp before Christmas and it was a very special moment,” Vaughan, a top-order batter and offspinner, said. “To get the opportunity to represent England at this level is really special in itself, but to lead the team out is something else.”
In total, he played four first-class and seven 50-over matches for Somerset, averaging 33.71 with the bat in the Championship. He also impressed at age-group level, making 85 from 83 balls for a Young Lions Invitational XI in a warm-up match against the England Under-19 ODI squad, for whom Rocky Flintoff – son of Andrew Flintoff – top-scored with 106.
“If someone had told me 12 months ago that I would have forced my way into the Somerset first team and be captaining the Under-19s, I wouldn’t have believed them,” Vaughan added. “It’s happened quickly but I’m going to keep my feet on the ground and work harder and harder.”
Vaughan’s father went on to become one of the most successful England captains of all time, with 26 victories in 51 Tests in charge between 2003 and 2008, including the 2005 Ashes triumph.
England Under-19s squad: Archie Vaughan (Somerset, capt), Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire), Tazeem Ali (Warwickshire), Ben Dawkins (Kent), Kesh Fonseka (Lancashire – Test squad only), Alex French (Surrey), Alex Green (Leicestershire), Jack Home (Worcestershire), James Isbell (Middlesex), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Ben Mayes (Hampshire), James Minto (Durham), Harry Moore (Derbyshire), Joe Moores (Lancashire – ODIs only), Thomas Rew (Somerset), Aaryan Sawant (Middlesex), Naavya Sharma (Middlesex), Alexander Wade (Yorkshire)
