/ Editor / 04 February 2007 /

Michael Vaughan is hopeful of returning from a hamstring injury for England's must-win one-dayer against New Zealand on Tuesday.

The country's cricket captain suffered the injury against the Kiwis during their Commonwealth bank Series clash three weeks ago and has missed the following five games.

However with the two sides going head-to-head in Brisbane for a place in the series final against Australia at stake, Vaughan is aiming to be fit to feature.

The 32-year-old said: "I have come through four or five days of solid running and as long as I get through Monday's practice I will be available for selection.
"I could have played on Friday, but it was a precaution not to."

If Vaughan does make it then selectors will face a dilemma as Ed Joyce or Mal Loye would have to drop down the order, or be left out completely in the case of Loye.

Regardless of who does play, Vaughan is looking for the players to take the performance from Friday's 92-run win against Australia into the do-or-die clash.

He added: "We want to try and achieve that consistent performance on a regular basis.
"Tuesday will be a real test of how far we have come because it is a must-win game to get in to the final.

"I know there has been a lot of talk, people saying we want to go home, but we don't. We want to get into the finals because we feel it will be a real big achievement to reach those finals."

England are trading at 2.4 to win the clash, while New Zealand are 1.59 favourites despite their defeat against Australia on Sunday.

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