Vaughan had a brilliant Ashes series.

By Richard Gibson, PA Sport

Few English batsmen will leave Australia without carrying lasting blemishes.

Whether they be mental scars or actual bruises, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Co have left their bullying marks - but not on Michael Vaughan.

The Yorkshire opener scaled the heights in 2002, a year in which he scored well in excess of 1,000 Test runs at an average the positive side of 50.

Not that there has been much time for the 28-year-old to reflect on his coming of age as an international cricketer.

A season of records for the Steel City's run-stealer, who became only the sixth man in history to score four hundreds in an English summer, was followed by knee surgery and intense cricket Down Under.

At Test level, Vaughan is England's most prolific batsman since Graham Gooch.

If 40 is the accepted benchmark average for a top international batsman, then 45, a mark which Vaughan is in excess of, is one of true class. The likes of David Gower and Gooch fell a touch below it, not helped by English pitches of the past.

But not since the retirement of another Yorkshire batter, Geoff Boycott, 20 years ago has any Englishman retired with statistics telling of greatness.

Vaughan is not yet 30 Tests into a career which promises to reach such levels not fleetingly, but in perpetuity.

Initial innings of grit and graft - recall the debut 33 made on a juicy green strip in South Africa in 2000, having been at the wicket with the score two for four, or the 41 against the West Indies to set up Lord's victory in the summer that followed - have given way to master-class marathons.

His stance has lost its crabby gait, the backlift is higher, and strokeplay once apologetic is now driven by self-belief.

Tipped once to inherit Michael Atherton's mantle, each innings since the former England captain's retirement has become less Atherton-esque.

No-one pays more attention to technique of England's current crop of batsmen than Vaughan but he has discovered a freedom at the crease Boycott may have considered reckless.

His two big hundreds against India - 197 at Trent Bridge and 195 at the Oval - were studded with exquisitely-executed cover drives and with the mental manacles released upon reaching three figures, majestic improvisation scuttled the ball to all parts.

Scoring 900 runs at 90 in 12 innings against Sri Lanka and India in English conditions was merely a warm-up, however.

The bigger test lay in wait in Australia, and his free-scoring 177 at Adelaide was the highlight of England's Ashes campaign.

Seemingly able to dispatch the ball wherever he liked, that opening day of the second Test was as good as it got for Nasser Hussain's team.

That freedom of stroke should ensure that Vaughan has a significant part to play in the forthcoming World Cup.

A total of 56 runs in the first seven innings of a stop-start one-day international career, which is still only 17 matches old, was disappointing.

But he relishes challenges - he took it upon himself to gain a place in England's plans for South Africa, adapting to the one-day game in keeping with his Test standing.

Scores of 63 and 43 in India 12 months ago and 59 in New Zealand, on the tour that followed emphasised that Vaughan can flourish in limited-overs internationals.

All the talk is of who will be employed as a pinch-hitter at first-wicket down should the run-rate be lagging.

Yet if Vaughan was allowed extra time at the crease, England might not need a specialist 15-over bully.

In all too many of his ODI appearances, he has walked into bat in the middle order towards the death of the innings and has never been sent in higher than number four.

But confidence, the magic ingredient that elevates all sporting endeavour, has clearly played a huge part in his Test supremacy.

The rest has come from working with England coach Duncan Fletcher, as well as the inclusiveness afforded players under central contracts.

At Yorkshire, Vaughan was a promising county cricketer; under central contracts he has become a fine Test player who on current evidence would be pushing for a place in a World XI.

"When I began professional cricket nine years ago I set myself a goal to improve every year, and I think there has been a steady progression," he said.

"But when you're with England, playing and being around the best players in the country, you've just got to get better. In any case the Test pitches have been belters this past season, and I've been fortunate to cash in on that.

"Working with Duncan has been great. What he gives you, apart from a sharp eye in spotting problems, is something specific to work on to stay ahead of the game.

"He never lets you sit back and admire your batting.

"Even when I'd scored that 197 he mentioned how I might have done things slightly differently. Actually, I agreed with him."