A View From the Boundary England v South Africa, Lord's, 2 August 2003

Vaughan can overcome having two former leaders in the team and do things his own way Major General Robin Brims

A day of Test cricket in the summer is a far cry from the spring Major General Robin Brims endured.

Four months ago Brims was in charge of 25,000 ground troops in Iraq as British troops marched on Basra.

But a Lord's Test is a date in the diary that Brims, president of the Army Cricket Association, never fails to make - the day job permitting.

"You get a buzz at Lord's on any occasion and I try to come every summer that I can," Brims said.

That said, the "buzz" during the second Test is not quite the same as during the NatWest final when Brims made his last visit and saw England thrash South Africa.

Although England are firmly on the backfoot this time, he remains confident that the hosts will be able to bounce back.

"I would regard this as just one battle and the series as a whole campaign," Brims explained.

"If you lose this match, you're only one down with three to go. The team have to stay positive and keep morale up."

Wise words that Michael Vaughan, England's new captain, would do well to heed from one of the army's most experienced leaders.

"When we started deploying, no decision had been made about whether force would be used, but you have to prepare yourself physically and mentally for combat," Brims reflected of the early days he spent in the Middle East.

"Most of my previous experience had been peacekeeping in the Balkans and Northern Ireland.

"It was daunting but a tremendous privilege to command British troops. I knew they were good, but in the event they were brilliant."

The actions of his troops allowed Brims to oversee what he regards as a successful campaign, particularly in taking control of Basra.

"When you're commanding you have to have a plan and make sure that people understand it, release their genius and trust them," Brims continued.

"The war lasted just over three weeks and went pretty much according to plan.

There were impromptu games of cricket with a dustbin, tennis ball and a baseball bat in the desert Major General Robin Brims

"There was a genuine feeling of liberation when we managed to get into Basra, an atmosphere of relief and billboards of Saddam had been ripped off and the words "Thank You" had replaced them.

"We've been successful in removing the regime and in that process we freed people from 20 years of abuse.

"They were abused in basic supplies of water, electricity, health and education - all the things that we would take for granted.

"The important thing is that the regime remains removed and that we work at giving Iraq back to the Iraqis.

"They are potentially a wealthy country, able, educated and entrepreneurial people who we need to let exploit their wealth."

Brims believes his views on leadership, although used in wildly different circumstances, are the same that need to be employed in cricket.

"There are similarities, particularly in cricket, as there's an element of direct leadership and it's a mental game, a game of chess.

You have to make sure you don't find yourself so demoralised that you get rolled over in a series Major General Robin Brims

And as if to prove his point, an anthology on aspects of leadership at Sandhurst's Officer Cadet Training Academy has Mike Brearley's book on captaincy in the bibliography.

Clearly captaincy has not affected Graeme Smith's batting, and Brims hopes Vaughan is able to make an equally easy transition from the ranks to the helm, as well as maintaining certain aspects of Nasser Hussain's leadership.

"History would suggest one should be surprised by Hussain's departure, although it [his resignation] was very dignified.

"He brought a certain steel to the team and they don't give up or roll over and determinedly keep trying."

Brims in conversation with Aggers

Vaughan will need all those qualities, and more with the bat, if he is to ensure that England win the campaign, irrespective of whether they lose their Lord's battle.