Michael Vaughan is confident he will be back to lead England in the second Test against the West Indies next week after opting to miss the series opener to ensure he recovers fully from a broken finger.
Vaughan had set his heart on making his first Test appearance since December 2005 at Lord's tomorrow after finally overcoming a string of injuries, mainly to his knee.
A broken middle finger on his right hand put paid to that, although Vaughan admits he was sorely tempted to declare himself ready to play.
PHOTO: AFP
"My heart was saying `just go out and play' -- but my head overruled the heart," the 32-year-old said. "I knew I could probably just about get through a game. But I might have struggled a bit in the field. I just thought it might be too big a risk. I was told if I get one more hit on it I could be out for two months."
In the meantime, Vaughan will be part of Team England at Lord's and he makes no apologies for his intended presence, while his stand-in Andrew Strauss is directing affairs on the field.
Vaughan wants to establish a successful working relationship with new coach Peter Moores, himself preparing for his first Test after replacing Duncan Fletcher.
"I'm going to be around this week," he said. "I know it's a magnificent talking point for many -- but I am the England captain."
"Andrew will take the team out and make the decisions on the pitch, but I have to have a huge say in and around the team because of the fact it's a new regime," Vaughan added. "Peter and I are working together for the first time -- and a week later I hope I'll be back as England captain."
All-rounder Andrew Flintoff meanwhile is facing a battle to be fit for the first Test following a recurrence of the ankle problems which have dogged his career.
Flintoff felt discomfort in his left ankle, which has been operated on twice in the last three years, while bowling nine overs for Lancashire against Hampshire over the weekend and has been forced to have a scan, the result of which will determine if he is able to play a full part at Lord's.
"We'll probably know more after I've run around and done what I need to do at practice, but I'm hopeful for Thursday," Flintoff said. "Sometimes when it's the ankle the alarm bells start ringing a little bit, but I'm still hopeful. The operation was on the back and on the inside and this is more on the outside. I had a bit of discomfort in the same sort of area in the winter so it's not something completely new."
Flintoff's status as one of the world's best all-rounders has come under scrutiny of late. He scored only two half-centuries during the Ashes tour of Australia and has passed 50 only once in his last 28 one-day international innings for England.
It is one of the reasons why the selectors chose Strauss to lead the side this week in the absence of Vaughan, although Flintoff stressed: "The captaincy wasn't something I was really thinking about."
"Since I've got back from the West Indies I've been concentrating on getting my game in order and I've had a fantastic opportunity at Lancashire to do that," he added.
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