Vaughan is one of England's greats

BIRMINGHAM: Andrew Flintoff led the tributes after former England captain Michael Vaughan announced his retirement from cricket on Tuesday.

Yorkshire batsman Vaughan is England's most successful Test skipper, with 26 wins from 51 matches.

"He was unflappable," said Flintoff.

"There could be mayhem all around him and he would just stand there as if nothing was happening, whether the side was 500 for none or 90 for nine.

"He always looked pretty poker-faced," the all-rounder told reporters. "He gave confidence to his team... he helped me as a player and he was a mate as well.

"He will go down as one of the greats of the English game." Vaughan, 34, who scored 18 centuries in 82 Tests, was captain at the time Kevin Pietersen came into England's one-day team in 2004 when the South African-born batsman had to return to his native country and confront a hostile crowd.

"Michael was huge for me," said Pietersen who hit three centuries in that one-day series.

"One of the first things he said to me, when I came in at the Wanderers when 60,000 people looked as though they wanted to kill me, was 'the ball's white, the ball's round and do whatever you have done to get here'.

"That calmed me right down from being a gibbering wreck when I walked on to that field to the player I am now. That's all I do now, I just watch the ball, not think about any rubbish," added England's leading batsman.