How England's Cricket World Cup misery helped Michael Vaughan cash in at the Melbourne Cup

Ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan had the last laugh about his country's dismal World Cup campaign when a joke about it landed him Melbourne Cup glory.

Vaughan, who skippered England between 2003 and 2008 and led them to a famous Ashes victory against bitter rivals Australia in 2005, was given Without A Fight in a sweepstake joke about their disappointing title defence.

The 2019 champions have already crashed out of this year's World Cup, with their fate confirmed following defeat by Australia on Saturday. England sit bottom of the standings on two points, with one success from seven games.

They have also suffered a shock defeat to Afghanistan, as well as heavy losses to India, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

However, Vaughan got some joy out of England's misery when Without A Fight notched a famous victory in the Melbourne Cup, winning the Flemington showpiece by two and a quarter lengths.

Vaughan was commentating for BBC Radio in Mumbai on Tuesday and said: "The TV station in Australia that I do work for had a sweepstake and gave me Without A Fight because it described how England had given up the World Cup.

"They were sledging but I won a few quid so I'll take it!"

Without A Fight on his way to Melbourne Cup gloryCredit: Morgan Hancock

A Group 3 winner when trained in Britain by Simon and Ed Crisford, Without A Fight completed a famous double with his Melbourne Cup success, having also landed the prestigious Caulfield Cup last month.

He also avenged his defeat in Australia's most famous race a year ago, when he finished 13th under William Buick.

Absurde – similarly spelt to the word that could also describe England's World Cup woes – fared best of the European-trained runners in seventh, with 9-2 favourite Vuaban a disappointing 14th.

England still have two games to go in the World Cup, which is taking place in India. Jos Buttler's side face the Netherlands on Wednesday in Pune as they fight to restore some pride in a dead-rubber contest.

They then end their campaign against Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday, and must finish in the top seven of the table to guarantee avoiding further embarrassment of not qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

A host of England's cricketers are keen fans of racing, and Jonny Bairstow is part of the Bronte Collection syndicate that owns Acomb Stakes winner Indian Run. Ex-World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, James Anderson and Stuart Broad also jointly owned the Richard Hannon-trained Elysium Dream as part of 'The Racing Cricketers'.

The Test team's head coach Brendon McCullum is also an avid follower of the sport and named his favourite bat after star Australian mare Winx, smashing 61 runs off just 30 balls with it in a Big Bash Twenty20 game for the Brisbane Heat against the Melbourne Stars in January 2018.

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