ASICS UK has signed England’s most successful test captain Michael Vaughan as its latest ambassador, joining fellow England stars Matthew Hoggard and Monty Panesar on the ASICS cricket roster.

The 32-year old Yorkshireman secured his place in history in 2005 as the first England captain since Mike Gatting in 1986-87 to win the Ashes. Vaughan is recognised as one of world cricket’s leading lights, both as captain and as a batsman. His signing as an ASICS ambassador formalises a long-standing relationship with the brand as his preferred cricket footwear supplier.

"It’s fantastic to add another blue-chip England cricket star as a brand ambassador," says ASICS Marketing Manager, Andrew Freeman. "Michael is a world-class cricketer, whose performance and feedback on his ASICS footwear will help build on our well-established position as the leader in cricketing footwear."

Says Vaughan, "I’m delighted to be formalising my partnership with ASICS. I’ve been using their footwear for a number of years. They have the best in cushioning, support and comfort, which is what you need at the top level of any sport. It’s going to be fantastic working alongside the brand and promoting ASICS to cricketers around the country."

In his role as an ASICS ambassador, Vaughan will wear ASICS’ new cricket shoe, the GEL-Advance and will appear in marketing and advertising material, brand promotional opportunity and PR activity.

ASICS is the preferred footwear supplier to the England Cricket Team, as well as Official Footwear Supplier to the Professional Cricketers Association.

Michael Vaughan has been a staple of the England team since his debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1999, where he drew praise for his calm and effective batting after coming to the crease with England at four for two wickets. From there Vaughan began to blossom. He scored more than 900 runs in seven tests against Sri Lanka and India in 2002, before an excellent Ashes series against Australia in 2003 where he scored more than 600 runs, becoming the first visiting batsman in 32 years to do so.

By 2003 Vaughan had become test and one day captain following the departure of Nasser Hussain. After a difficult start, he led the England team to a routing of the West Indies in the Caribbean, before returning home to hammer both New Zealand and the West Indies. An away series win against South Africa led to England’s unexpected and dramatic Ashes victory in 2005. Since then Vaughan has endured a number of setbacks due to injury, but also scored a memorable century on home turf at Headingley in his comeback game, before going on to overhaul Peter May′s record of 20 wins as England captain.

TEST STATISTICS
Tests: 68
Innings: 122
Runs: 4595
H/S: 197 v India, Nottingham, 2002
Average: 42.94

ONE-DAY STATISTICS
Matches: 77
Innings: 74
Runs: 1773
H/S: 90 (not out) v Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2004
Average: 27.70

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2003
Awarded MBE, 2005