Vaughan and Gough robbed

While Michael Vaughan and the England team practised at the Chester-le-Street ground for Tuesday's match against New Zealand, a burglar walked into the English dressing room and, after a quick look around, strolled away with Vaughan's watch and wallet, as well as £300 and 17 credit cards that belonged to Darren Gough.

According to The Daily Telegraph, security cameras caught the thief on tape, and established that he was careful not to leave behind fingerprints. He spent three minutes inside the dressing room and took the long way out to avoid detection. His job was made easier by the absence of a security guard outside the dressing room.

Vaughan, who lost more than £1000 and the valuable watch, believed that the thief was familiar with the layout of the ground. "It's a maze finding your way to the dressing room," he said. "We're always getting lost."

If the thief knows his cricket, the contents of Vaughan's wallet could well surprise him. Besides the money, it contained a match ticket from the recent Antigua Test, autographed by Brian Lara, who broke the 400-run barrier in that game. Incidentally, though other valuables were lying around the room, they were left untouched.