Poor form prompted Vaughan to retire
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has confirmed his immediate retirement from cricket at the age of 34.
"It has been an enormous privilege to have played for and captained my country and this is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make," he said.
Vaughan played 82 Tests, 51 as skipper, and scored over 5,700 runs at an average of 41, including 18 centuries.
But by far his greatest achievement was the 2005 Ashes win over Australia which sparked a national celebration.
His omission from the training squad for this summer's series after failing to rediscover his batting form for Yorkshire in county cricket was one of the factors which contributed to his decision to retire.
"I wanted to give it one last effort to get into the Ashes squad. I've given it that shot but haven't been playing well enough," he told a news conference at Edgbaston.
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"I have not played well enough. I have not got the rhythm or form to be picked in the Ashes squad. It has to be best 16 players and I am not one of those.
"Two weeks ago, I was in the garden with my little lad Archie. He bowled a ball which hit a weed and knocked my off stump out of the ground - and when a three-year-old's bowling you out, it's time to move over.
"Wherever I've played this year I felt that warmth and crowd reaction to try to give me one more chance. I now move on and wish the team all the best in an Ashes series they can win.
"I know they have the drive, ambition and abilities to repeat the success from 2005. Winning that series was definitely the high point of my career."
Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, hailed Vaughan as "among the very best" international captains.
He said: "The way he and (coach) Duncan Fletcher forged a team capable of winning six consecutive Test series stands as testament to his ability to inspire and motivate those around him.

Vaughan was also recognised as one of the game's most stylish batsmen
"He was also a marvellous ambassador for England cricket, off the field as well as on it, and someone who genuinely appreciated the generous support he received from the thousands of England supporters who follow the team at home and abroad."
Andrew Strauss, the current England captain, said he had "learned a great deal" from watching the way Vaughan led the side.
"His ability to identify a new strategy for outwitting the opposition or bring the best out of his own players was a priceless asset," he said.
"But more than anything we as players will miss the enormous sense of fun and enjoyment that Michael brought to the dressing room."
Vaughan made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 1993 and six years later won his first Test cap during England's winter tour to South Africa.
In 2002/03 he rose to the top of the Test batting rankings after hitting three centuries during the Ashes series in Australia, and was appointed England one-day captain at the start of the following summer.
By mid-summer he had taken on the Test captaincy too, following Nasser Hussain's decision to step down, and after securing a 2-2 draw with the combative South Africans, led England to six successive series victories, culminating in the epic 2005 Ashes triumph.
He missed the return series in Australia in 2006/07 because of a debilitating knee injury and England were whitewashed 5-0 under the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff.
Vaughan was back for the 2007 World Cup campaign in the West Indies but gave up the one-day captaincy after England's elimination.
He hoped to stay in the team in both forms of the game but was never chosen for the one-day side again, although he remained in charge of the Test side and made a century against the West Indies in his first innings for 18 months in May 2007, and also made hundreds in home series against India and New Zealand.

His form subsequently declined and against South Africa last summer he only scored 40 runs in five innings, including two ducks, prompting him to resign the captaincy before the final match of the series.
Only Michael Atherton led England in more Tests - but Vaughan's record of 26 Test wins is the highest by any England skipper.
At county level, he enjoyed his greatest moment in 2001 when, after missing that summer's Ashes series because of injury, he helped Yorkshire win the Championship for the first time since 1968.
"Michael Vaughan is a class act and will be remembered by Yorkshire members and supporters around the world for his beautiful stroke play and, of course, his success in leading England to Ashes glory in 2005," said the county's chief executive Stewart Regan.
"It has been a pleasure and a privilege for me to get to know Michael over the past three years and his presence around the club has been hugely motivational, particularly the younger players."
Vaughan's final game was a Twenty20 Cup defeat by Leicestershire at Grace Road last Friday.
There has been speculation that he may now take up a career as a television pundit, but Vaughan said he had not yet received any offers to join the ranks of ex-England players working in the media.
"I think it is important to have a little break and weigh up my options and decide what to do next," he explained.
Explaining his approach to captaincy, Vaughan described himself as a "good actor".
He added: "Captaining your country is a very special moment and the skill is making sure no-one knows what you're thinking.
"It's very important not to feel the pressure, or outwardly be seen to be feeling it.
"It's very difficult as England captain to completely switch off - but you enjoy it and at the end you've exhausted all your energy because you've given it everything."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, Vaughan's adversary in the 2005 series, said he was "a bit surprised" by his retirement.
"It is only a couple of months ago that I was thinking he might be named in the first Test squad by England. I thought he might have a bit more to offer international cricket somewhere down the line," he commented.
"Michael was an exceptionally skilled and talented player whose record would stack up against most top order batsmen who have played international cricket.
"He was a distinguished captain who led the side very well. Good luck with what he does after cricket. He was always a highly respected and skilled opponent."

Australia captain Ricky Ponting says England may be better off without Andrew Flintoff in their Ashes side, unless the key player is 100% fit.
Ponting said Flintoff was not the force he had been in 2005 when he led England to a 5-0 defeat in Australia 18 months later after an injury comeback.
"Flintoff is obviously very important to England's set-up," said Ponting.
"Maybe, as we saw in 2007, if he's not 100% fit then maybe that sort of impact he can have is not there."
Ponting, whose team are currently based in Nottingham preparing for the ICC World Twenty20, begin their five-Test Ashes defence on 8 July.

He was happy to give his views on Flintoff, who tore knee cartilage while playing in the Indian Premier League in April - and was subsequently ruled out of all England's international cricket until the Ashes.
Whether or not to field Flintoff in the first Test at Cardiff - perhaps on the back of just a game or two for Lancashire - will be "the great decision the England selectors are going to have to make," said Ponting.
"In 2005 and in 2007 we saw two completely different players and that had a lot to do with the level of fitness that he had under his belt going into each series.
"That's where they're going to have a tough decision to make."
Ponting 'very confident' of Ashes success
Ponting said he felt "relaxed, fresh and rejuvenated" after a four-week break from cricket.
And after team-mate Michael Hussey complimented England's new-found strength in depth, the Aussie skipper said his team would pose a severe challenge to the host team this summer.
"England played some very good cricket against the West Indies but the competition and opposition they'll be coming up against us is vastly stiffer than what they've faced in the last few weeks.
"I'm very confident we've got a group of guys here who will be well and truly good enough to win the series. I'm really excited about that."
Australia will be without Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist this summer but Ponting warned that his country's new breed will pose a real threat to England.
"With the transitional phase the team's been going through, where we are at the moment is very positive," he said.
"To see the Phillip Hugheses, Norths, Hilfenhauses, Peter Siddles and those guys come in and have immediate success has been very pleasing for me as captain of the team and one of the more experienced players."

Vaughan and Bell both want the number three role this summer
England announce their first Test squad of the summer on Wednesday, with huge interest surrounding the identity of the man to bat at number three.
Owais Shah has failed to cement the role, despite chances in the Caribbean, so it could be a straight fight between Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan.
Key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will miss the two Tests against West Indies, starting on 6 May at Lord's.
So wicketkeeper Matt Prior could bat at six in a side containing five bowlers.
Ravi Bopara, one of several England players to have spent the opening weeks of the season in South Africa with the Indian Premier League, will nevertheless hope to get a place in the squad at the very least - having been dropped after scoring a century in Barbados.
The Test squad was set to have been announced on 20 April but the panel, comprising new coach Andy Flower, national selector Geoff Miller, plus James Whitaker and Ashley Giles, opted to watch another round of County Championship matches first.
Bell, yet to score a Test century in 16 Tests at number three, was dropped during the winter tour of the Caribbean but has since scored two centuries for Warwickshire.

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Former England captain Vaughan had been tipped to regain his place but failed to score notable runs in his first two first-class innings.
The 34-year-old did make his highest score for Yorkshire since September 2007, however, when he struck four fours and three sixes in 82 from 116 balls in a 50-over match against Sussex at Headingley on Sunday.
Vaughan also has a far better record against Australia than Bell, who has never made a century against cricket's toughest opponents.
Bell, 27, told BBC Sport: "Michael Vaughan's record speaks for itself. Of course I can see both sides of the argument.
"I feel in a pretty good place. I've enjoyed coming back to Warwickshire, training hard and scoring the amount of runs I probably needed to to get myself back in the position to get selected. I have given myself the best chance I can to push my position.
"The message I got was to go away and score big hundreds. I've done that."
He said that he had spent his two months on the sidelines in the West Indies boxing on the beach at 6am most days with ECB security adviser Reg Dickason.
"I've been guilty in the past of getting fifties and not going on to get hundreds, so fitness is an area which could help me," said Bell.
"You can get a little bit complacent at times. It was a tough time to watch everyone else but probably I was a bit lucky to have those two months to sit back and think about what I needed to do to get back and get picked by England.
"I still average over 40 but I knew I hadn't performed for three months. When you don't perform as a team there has to be someone who is left out of the side and it was my time.
"By no imagination do I think I have cracked it but I believe I am going to play for England again and my best years are ahead of me."
If England do go with five bowlers, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are certainties, while Steve Harmison - who did take five wickets for Durham against Yorkshire - is likely to be recalled yet again.
With Flintoff, Amjad Khan and Ryan Sidebottom all injured, Sajid Mahmood, despite taking no wickets in Lancashire's first Championship match of the season, and Dimitri Mascarenhas will also be hopeful of selection.
But seam bowlers have struggled at Lord's in recent years, so England may consider going with two spinners, most likely to be Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

Fifth one-day international, St Lucia: West Indies v England Date: Friday, 3 April Play starts: 1430 BST Coverage: Full commentary on Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave and BBC Sport website (UK only). Live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobiles. Also live on Sky Sports

Khan played in the Twenty20 defeat but has not featured in the ODIs
Seamer Amjad Khan is to return home from England's tour of the West Indies because of a cartilage injury.
The Kent player will have treatment back in Britain after being ruled out of Friday's fifth and final one-day international in St Lucia.
Khan flew out to join the Test squad as cover for injuries, making his England debut in the fifth Test in Trinidad.
He then played in the Twenty20 international defeat, but has not featured in any of the ODIs.
The series is level at 2-2 going into Friday's game, for which England duo Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff have been passed fit.
West Indies - whose players' association is in dispute with the country's cricket board, amid threats of strike action affecting the game - have replaced injured spinner Nikita Miller with fellow slow left-armer Sulieman Benn.