MICHAEL Vaughan hasn't yet seen the light. He allowed his team to surrender the initiative by accepting an offer of bad light, then increased the gloom with a parrot-like repetition of Nasser Hussian's moans about the county game.

A change of captaincy was supposed to bring a fresh approach to the England team. So it was quite depressing to hear Vaughan trotting out the old garbage about county cricket being to blame for the national team's ills.

It is much nearer the truth to say that the county game's shortcomings are a product of the soft society we live in. So we have to look much deeper for the root of the problem.

County cricket has served the national team well down the years, probably more so when more of it was played. So to say there is now too much cricket is nonsense.

It would be accurate to say there are far too many county cricketers treading water in the comfort zone. But again that's the fault of our culture of complacency, not the game, and the solution is to prune staffs more ruthlessly.

Unless players show genuine enthusiasm for the game and improving their ability to play it they should be shown the door. When shirking is second nature to so many people there is little wonder that far too many players grab the first opportunity to get off the park.

Accepting offers of bad light has become routine practice. That's why Trescothick and Butcher went off at a time when they were pulverising the South Africans and why two Glamorgan batsmen went off against Yorkshire on Monday when they had just scored 57 off 52 balls.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has admitted that the bad light fiasco came as a huge relief and allowed his team to regroup. It's not difficult to argue that the Test was decided in that one moment of pathetic caution.

If that's what Vaughan means by lack of mental toughness then I agree with him. But these were two seasoned internationals who should have been brave enough to carry on. He can't blame the county game for their cowardice.

JONATHAN Edwards saw the light. Or did he? God works in mysterious ways and after thinking it was a sign from above when he hurt his ankle at Crystal Palace and was stretchered away, Edwards then spoke of a miracle cure. Did God want him to retire or not?

In the end his own legs told him he had made the right decision because in his farewell appearance in the World Championships in Paris he found there was nothing there.

Still, in a week when two great champions retired he can at least claim that, at 37, he went on as long as his legs would carry him, which was a good five years longer than Pete Sampras.

The world of tennis said farewell to Sampras two weeks after his 32nd birthday on the first night of the US Open. He was presented with a plaque with an inscription which began with the words: "In a career which spanned three decades."

This sounds like typical American exaggeration as he won the first of his five US Open titles in 1991 and went on to win Wimbledon seven times.

We are never satisfied, of course, so while we despised John McEnroe for his ill-mannered tantrums, we became bored with Sampras because of his lack of charisma. Undoubtedly he dominated tennis during the 90s, but whether the game is the better for it is another matter. It's probably what drove us to Henmania.

THE World Athletics Championships seem to have highlighted how some people rise to the occasion, notably medal winners Darren Campbell and Kelly Holmes, who have done it before.

Jonathan Edwards always did it in his prime, but there is obviously something lacking within the objectionable Dwain Chambers. After his latest failure he should stop the macho posturing and look deep within himself to see if there is a trace of humility. If he finds any it might offer him a route to success.

RACING is having to defend itself again following a three-year investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, which strikes me as a ludicrous waste of time.

The Sport of Kings is a world of its own, a law unto itself and absolutely nothing to do with the OFT, who are apparently bleating about breaching of competition laws. No doubt there is a fair amount of corruption within racing, but it strikes me most of the people involved - especially the punters - simply accept it and get on with it. Far more harm would be caused by enforcing the OFT blueprint.

ARSENE Wenger is considered an intelligent man, perhaps because he speaks better English than most English footballers. But I heard him on the radio saying Arsenal had scored first against Middlesbrough. This was no great surprise as they won 4-0

Published: 29/08/2003