England skipper Michael Vaughan confirmed that he is fit and raring to lead England in the world cup. England will open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on March 16. Vaughan who was out of action for the last season due to a surgery on his right knee made his comeback in the just concluded CB Series in Australia which England won.

Vaughan who was in and out of the CB Series will pass on the captaincy to Andrew Flintoff incase he is unfit. But Vaughan hopes that it won’t come to a stage where in he happens to be a liability for the team as you never get a chance like this daily. He further added that he deserves a bit of luck before clicking in the tournament.
 
Vaughan did not deny that England’s approach in one-day cricket has left plenty to be desired in recent years, and admitted that his own record - an average of 27.70 over 77 games - was not a patch on his performances in Tests. Since 1992 England haven’t really shown up at World Cups. But this WC promises to be the most unpredictable of the whole lot.

Vaughan added that no-one should write Australia off, despite their unsettling run of injuries in recent weeks, but pointed out that the return of Kevin Pietersen after his rib injury could only improve England’s prospects.

And Vaughan also sung the praises of Monty Panesar, who was one of the genuine success stories of England’s traumatic campaign in Australia. He reiterated saying that the way Monty has responded to the one-day situation is magnificent as he might as well prove lethal for us against the big teams.

England set off for St Vincent where they will play two warm-up matches against Bermuda on March 5 and Australia four days later. Vaughan added that he would play only a minor role in the opening game, but hoped to be fully operational by the time of the second match.