Michael Vaughan did his best to allay fitness fears after being named as captain
of England's 15-man squad for the World Cup, which starts next month in the West
Indies.
The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman must undergo two weeks' of
"intensive treatment" on a hamstring injury before England departs
for the Caribbean on March 2.
Vaughan has spent most of the past 12 months out of international
cricket with a long-standing knee problem and missed England's 5-0 Ashes thrashing
in Australia.
However, he did return during the subsequent triangular one-day
series but played in just three of England's 10 matches because of the hamstring
injury.
He could only watch as the team, under the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff,
put a wretched run of form behind them to win four matches in
a row which culminated with a 2-0 triumph in the best of three match final against
world champions Australia.
"It is getting better by the day," Vaughan said.
"It's disappointing the way I ended the tour. I am having extensive treatment
and pushing it as much as I can but what you get in a match is different to
indoor conditions when you test a hamstring.
"The key matches for me are Bermuda (warm-up) and New
Zealand (first group game). At the moment I feel confident to go and play."
England's chairman of selectors David Graveney said the importance of
Vaughan, who has yet to score a one-day international hundred, as captain could
not be under-estimated.
"Everybody will be aware that when we played against New Zealand
- the game we had to win to get into the finals (in Australia) -
his contribution in the field as captain shows how important he is to England,"
said Graveney.
"So it is my own personal wish that he gets off the plane
in St Vincent as captain," Graveney added.
England play their first warm-up match against Bermuda in St
Vincent on March 5. Their first match in the tournament proper is a Group C
fixture against New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16.
They have yet to win the World Cup although England was the
losing finalists in 1979, 1987 and 1992.
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