Kevin Pietersen can help England do Ashes double: Vaughan

Former cricket captain Michael Vaughan, who is spending more time on the dance floor than watching cricket, believes  that England can achieve the Ashes double at home against Australia now that high scoring and brilliant Kevin Pietersen is back in favour.

Vaughan, who lifted the urn in 2005, is looking forward to the sumptuous cricketing feast that lies ahead in 2013 with excitement and passion.

In an interview with Sportsmail,  Vaughan spoke of his admiration for both current skipper Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, his confidence about England's chances of winning back to back Ashes series and his pleasure at being proved wrong when he predicted an Indian Test whitewash.

On Pietersen, he said that when he is at his best, he is great, while when he is at his worst, he's not that bad. 

Vaughan said that he was just happy to be able to see the best players playing for England. 

Pietersen, he said, belonged to the great category of cricketers past and present, and added that one had to just see the quality of his three hundreds in Colombo, Headingley and Mumbai to know that he was an extraordinary cricketer.

On Cook, he said that he is getting better after taking charge of the national squad.

Cook, he said, has both maturity and the respect of his team, and would be a fine leader. 

Vaughan also tipped Joe Root to have a bright future at the international stage just like him, adding the Yorkshire batsman has all the qualities to lead the England team in future. 

Vaughan said he was surprised by Root's quality during his debut against India, when he scored a resolute 73, as England sealed a historic Test series win against the one-day World Champions, the Sun reports. 

Vaughan said Root has had exactly the same pathway as him, branding it as extraordinary. Vaughan added they both have got the same club that they played for and they even use the same equipment, adding Root also lives in the village that he lived in throughout his entire England career. 

The former Ashes winning skipper said the way Root has started with England in the middle order that's exactly what he did, adding he was sure the batsman would end up opening the batting and like him Root bowls a bit of off spin too. 

Vaughan further said that he thinks Root will be a captain eventually as he looks like a leader because of his level-header approach. Root is a good communicator and he gets on with all different types of people, Vaughan added. 

Vaughan said that is what England captaincy is, making sure you can relate to all the different facets that all the different individuals bring to the team. Vaughan also said Alastair Cook is going to be captain for many, many years but he is sure Joe Root will get a go eventually.