"Freddie as phenomenal as Sachin"

"At Cardiff, on the first day of the Ashes series, the atmosphere was dead for the first few hours but then all of a sudden Freddie came to the crease and the whole ground was lifted. It was phenomenal and no other player in world cricket - apart from Sachin Tendulkar - has that ability," former England captain Michael Vaughan said.

"He was a great player to captain. He could be difficult at times, because he is not the most professional cricketer, but with Fred you accept the whole package," he added.

"As England captain I had an awareness of how much Fred could lift the supporters, but the real significance of that did not sink in until this summer when I have sat in the crowd and seen at first hand his popularity," he revealed.

"Fred likes to be loved and he is quite soft at heart. He needs an arm around his shoulder because he does not respond to be ranted and raved at. I would just talk to him and remind him what good a player he was and the impact he could have on the game," Vaughan said.

"Fred was sometimes difficult to deal with behind the scenes and I wouldn't agree with the theory that he was the heartbeat of the dressing room.

"We had our ups and downs and there were times when I would think about the headaches he caused. We would have debates and confrontation but handling that is the art of captaincy and we always had respect for each other. We have become very good friends and in fact speak more now than we ever did," he said.

"Overall Fred has been a great person for the game of cricket. The public look at him and remember how he has entertained them. Statistically he is not a great player, but I have seen at close quarters what he has brought to he England team over the last few years and also the fans don't care about stats," he said.

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