MICHAEL VAUGHAN is in such a spin over his miserable fortune with the toss that he is toying with the idea of delegating the job at the Wanderers this week. It is believed such a step would be unprecedented, but there is nothing in the laws to prevent an appointed captain passing on the task.

Law 1.3 states: “If at any time the captain is not available, a deputy shall act for him. If a captain is not available during the period in which the toss is to take place, then the deputy must be responsible . . . for the toss.”

Vaughan, who does not have an official vice-captain, might consider handing over the task to Geraint Jones, who doesn’t seem averse to risk. Two days ago, he went into a shark cage in the sea off Cape Town in water sprinkled with blood, so the sharks would be sure to give the cage their full attention. Trying to get the better of Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, armed only with a coin ought to be child’s play by comparison.

Whatever the outcome, handing over the responsibility for calling heads or tails on Thursday might at least remove some of the pressure on the beleaguered England captain, who is out of runs as well as luck.

It is perhaps best not to say it to Vaughan’s face, but he’s a useless tosser. This series he has called incorrectly all three times — choosing heads each time — and in Durban and Cape Town it proved costly.

Smith made England bat first in Durban, and they were dismissed for 139 when the pitch was at its liveliest. In Cape Town, the South Africans were desperate not to bowl first after spending virtually all the third and fourth days in the field. Smith won again, opted to bat and South Africa spent a day-and-a-half grinding out a first-innings score of 441, which their bowlers, duly refreshed, capitalised on with their most disciplined performance so far.

“Somebody in the dressing-room mentioned that it doesn’t have to be the captain who goes out for the toss,” said Vaughan, who is writing a book about the art of captaincy. “I can designate somebody else to go out there if I want to. It might be best if I do. I’m giving it some thought, because nobody can do worse than me.”

Adam Hollioake, the former Surrey captain, once responded to losing nine tosses on the bounce by suggesting to his opposite number, Mark Ealham of Kent, that the toss be conducted on a best-of- three basis. Ealham and the umpires saw no objection, but it failed to alter Hollioake’s luck. Ealham won the first and second tosses, meaning Hollioake’s record slumped to 11 losses out of 10.

Vaughan’s misfortune is not confined to this series. He has won the toss only six times in 22 Tests, making him the least successful England captain of modern times, with a success rate of 27.3%. It is a ratio that seems to defy the theory that luck evens itself out over time. Not in Vaughan’s case, it doesn’t. He has proved particularly inept when required to do the calling, which is the task of the visiting captain.

He is believed to have always called heads, but in 12 Tests overseas has won only twice, at Colombo in 2003 and Bridgetown in 2004. At Colombo, it did him little good: Sri Lanka amassed more than 600 runs and won by an innings in England’s last Test defeat before Cape Town.

Vaughan has never won two Test tosses in a row, and his record against Smith is particularly bad: one win in seven. Nor has he done well in one-dayers, winning 14 in 34. His success rate was worse, but he recently won three times in four in Zimbabwe — when England would have won whatever he called.

Vaughan is in a bad trot similar to that experienced by his predecessor, Nasser Hussain, who lost the toss 21 times in his first 31 Tests. Between 2000 and 2002, he won only three times in 22, although his misfortune did not prevent England winning series against West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Indeed, while few people would argue that winning the toss is an advantage, the overall evidence provided by England’s recent captains would suggest otherwise. Vaughan has won five out of seven Test series, while Mike Gatting, who won 60% of his tosses, had poor results, winning only twice in 23 Tests.

Gatting took a relaxed approach to the toss: “I never stuck to heads or tails, I just chopped and changed.”

Vaughan’s determination to keep calling heads has created some scepticism among the England players, one of whom said: “He’s making it easy for opposing captains to walk around with coins with two tails.”

Were he to decide to take the toss himself after all, Vaughan said he would not change tactics but double-bluff Smith — and Lady Luck — by calling heads yet again.