Trent Bridge Test, Day 3
Saturday, August 10, 2002 It's a big comment to make, but that's one of the best innings I've ever seen by an English batsman. Vaughan simply played beautifully, and fulfilled all the promise he's shown in recent seasons. At the beginning of this year we were urging him to stop making 30s and 40s and put together something big, and this year he's come up with the goods. With him and Trescothick at the top of the order, the future of England is very bright indeed.

He'll be disappointed to get out in the 190s, but it's never a perfect day when you're a batsman – you've always got to get out at some stage. I've made a couple of 197s myself and I know what it's like – you're one hit away from something special. But I'm sure he'd have taken that at the beginning of the day.

The speed of his innings was a bit of a worry – he's taken the game on far too quickly! We were going at 100mph today, and although I encouraged the boys to be positive, I didn't mean that positive. But before this innings everyone had him marked down as something of an Atherton-like blocker – he just seems to have learned from everyone else. I am very, very pleased, and as I say, the top order is in good hands.

Set against that, the other innings were always going to be a bit mundane, but Mark Butcher played a solid, composed knock. That was all that was needed though. There's a lot of cricket left in the next two days, what with all the rain, and India still have a new ball to come tomorrow.

I was impressed with Robert Key's first innings as well. He showed composure, and lined it up well outside off, which is vital if you are going to be an international opener. He was a bit unlucky when he got out as well, as the ball seemed to spin sideways onto the stumps.

We got a bit of tap in the morning from Harbhajan, although he was a bit lucky at times – he would flail and miss, flail and miss, then finally connect with one over the covers. At first we tried to pitch it up and get him on the drive, and when that didn't work we tried to rough him up for an over, but there was no pace in the wicket. We eventually got a couple of quick wickets to wrap things up, but it was a valuable 50 runs, and had we managed to keep them nearer 300, we would have been in a good position. People might say we could have bowled closer to the stumps, but the ball was swinging, and so we couldn't try to hit middle without being picked off through midwicket.

But there are 210 overs left in the match and anything is possible. At the moment we are in a better situation than them, but Test cricket can change quickly these days, especially at Trent Bridge, which, with its fast outfield, is a very high-scoring ground. If you time it, it tends to go for four – you don't see too many twos here.

If the rest of the batters can put something together tomorrow, and we reach 500, then we'll be in a strong position. But the first-innings lead is going to be very important.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. His thoughts will appear on Wisden.com, other duties permitting, at the end of each day of England's international cricket this summer.

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