September 15, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 14, 1429

LONDON, Sept 14: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has admitted he has been lucky to be awarded a new central contract and hopes it will be springboard for him to have “one last crack” at Test cricket.

Vaughan, 33, resigned as England captain last month and then stood down from the final match of the South Africa series, which England won under new skipper Kevin Pietersen.

However, the Yorkshire batsman insisted he wanted to continue his England career. However, runs have been hard to come by for Vaughan.

His last fifty, for Yorkshire, was followed by scores of two, nought, 21, nought and 17 against South Africa.

A break from cricket did not lead to an upturn in his fortunes when he came back, with Vaughan managing just 10, nought and 19 in his next three innings for his county.

“The central contract is a huge bonus, if I am honest I think I am lucky. I haven’t got the runs properly to justify that position,” Vaughan told BBC Radio Five’s Sportsweek programme on Sunday.

“I think it has shown a hell of a lot of faith. But over the last year and a half I have had some excellent innings. I have had some good times with the bat not too long ago.

“I think they have just repaid the fact that if I get back into form I think I can still play a huge part in the England cricket team.

“I want to play for England - that is my goal over the next 12 months, to make sure I get that one last crack,” he concluded.—AFP