Vaughan returns to one-day squad

Michael Vaughan, still officially the England captain, will return to the team next week when he is named in the one-day squad.

Reports last night said Vaughan would be included in the 16-man party for the tri-nation series against Australia and New Zealand in January and February.

Vaughan has been trying to recover from a career-threatening knee injury but the selectors have yet to decide whether to name him as captain in place of Andrew Flintoff.

The selectors fear that announcing their plan to restore Vaughan to the leadership in the middle of the Ashes series could undermine Flintoff.

Vaughan, 32, who underwent a fourth knee operation in July, has convinced the England hierarchy that he is fit enough to return to international cricket.

The Yorkshire batsman has been training with the Academy squad in Perth and played for England in the official tour match against Western Australia last weekend. Vaughan did not bat in the match but spent a day in the field, which will have been a good test for his knee.

Vaughan's aim is to be fully fit by the time of the World Cup, which starts in the West Indies in March.