February 06, 2007	Tuesday	Muharram 17, 1428

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BRISBANE, Feb 5: The likely return of captain Michael Vaughan has provided England with another timely boost before Tuesday's must-win tri-series One-day International against New Zealand at the Gabba.

Vaughan has been sidelined by a hamstring injury for three weeks but is expected to resume playing after completing a full training session on Monday.

“Fitness-wise, he did everything that was asked of him today,” England batsman Andrew Strauss told reporters.

“He looked good in practice and can't see any reason why he will not play tomorrow.

“His experience and talent is what we need heading into such an important match as this.”

Vaughan's return could not come at a better time for England, who need to beat New Zealand to join Australia in the best-of-three finals series.

England had lost their last two games against the Kiwis but stayed in the hunt for a place in the finals with a surprise 92-run thumping of Australia in Sydney on Friday.

The English had not beaten the Australians in any form of the game on their dismal tour but Strauss the result had given the team the confidence to end their losing streak against New Zealand.

“The win over Australia the other day was much overdue and has made a massive difference to us,” Strauss said.

“There is a real buoyancy about the guys at the moment and we have a very good chance of winning this game tomorrow.

“Against Australia we showed that if we stick to our game plan we can beat the best and that is a pretty good state of mind to be in.

“Getting to the finals will mean we have beaten Australia and New Zealand consecutively in the one week and if we do that we will be extremely confident about the prospect of ending this tournament on a real high.”

Meanwhile a knee injury is threatening to force New Zealand paceman Kyle Mills out of the World Cup.

Mills, who has been troubled by knee problems for the past year, aggravated the injury playing against Australia in Perth on Jan 28 and has been in pain ever since.

New Zealand coach John Bracewell said Mills had been prescribed painkilling tablets to alleviate his discomfort but faced the likelihood of surgery if the problem continued.

“It aches through the night, so it's a call that if the painkillers don't work, he will probably go home and have his operation and miss the World Cup,” Bracewell told reporters on Monday.

“He thinks he can get through the bowling all right but he's just not getting any rest or recovery and that's going to eat away on him in a tournament situation.

“We've been trying to nurse him through and we can see he's limping every time he slows down.

“There's a degree of so much desire to want to be on the bus, but he hasn't slept for three nights with the pain.”

Mills is a key figure in New Zealand's World Cup plans and was expected to open the bowling with Shane Bond, who is also battling injury problems.

“The whole team are keen for him to try and play through it, because we know the value of Kyle Mills as a swing bowler and how he's bowled with the new ball,” Bracewell said.

“He's been a tremendous performer for us and would be a loss to our campaign. That's why we've been so patient, holding him back.”

A decision on whether Mills will play in Tuesday's clash against England will be delayed until the day of the match and will depend on how he reacts to the painkillers.

Both teams are desperate to make the finals but Bracewell said missing out would not be the end of the world.

“A loss would hurt in the short term but looking at the big picture with three games to go against Australia at home, I think we're going to get sufficient cricket leading up to the World Cup,” Bracewell said.

“Guys are over here to do well but they also understand there's a big picture.”—Reuters