LONDON, April 16: Duncan Fletcher has said England captain Michael Vaughan faces a tricky decision over whether to quit one-day cricket in order to extend his Test career.

The 31-year-old Yorkshire batsman is currently out of action after having knee surgery and does not know yet when he will return.

Vaughan has expressed doubts over whether his body can cope with the physical demands of playing both forms of the game at the highest level.

“He could come back and be fine,” England coach Fletcher said on Sunday. “I last spoke to him about a week ago and he seemed pretty upbeat at the time.

“But it seems like it is two steps forwards and then one step back from what I hear.

“It is a very difficult decision to make and only Michael can make that,” Fletcher also told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek programme.

“That decision has to come from Michael and depends on the advice he gets from the medical people.

“At the end of the day, he is playing cricket - is it (the knee problem) because he is running between the wickets too much? I do not know,” the former Zimbabwe captain added.

“If you run two runs tomorrow and you are going to damage your knee, then you pack up.

“If someone cannot really give you that answer, it is very difficult to make the decision.”

Meanwhile, Fletcher voiced concerns about the workload being imposed on Andrew Flintoff.

The Lancashire all-rounder led England in Vaughan's absence, achieving a creditable draw in the Test series before the team's limited-over games’ problems returned in a 5-1 one-day campaign against India.

“I am just concerned we are asking too much of Andrew being an all-rounder,” Fletcher said. “He has got enough on his plate bowling and batting well for us. We have got a good stand-in captain, he has done well.

“But ideally with Michael probably back it just lessens the burden on Andrew and he can free himself up to play the exciting cricket he does play. We need Michael back as player and captain with all the experience he has got.” Looking back at the India tour, Fletcher said: “It was a trip of two parts.

“In the Test matches we were short of a few players and it was an outstanding performance to draw 1-1 with India in a three-match series. The guys played some very good cricket.

“In the ODIs, unfortunately we missed that experience tremendously with five players missing and that made it a very difficult tour.” As well as Vaughan, England also have fitness concerns over pacemen Stephen Harmison, Simon Jones and spinner Ashley Giles ahead of next month's first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

Fletcher admitted: “We are a little bit concerned that if those players do not make it back into the England side, then we have to get young players into those slots and give them as much experience as possible.

“And there is not a long way to go to the World Cup (in the Caribbean in 2007). There are some encouraging signs, but at the end of the day, we need experience when we go into a major competition.” Nevertheless, Fletcher reiterated his calls for the authorities to cut down on the amount of international cricket being played.

England have a particular problem as they are obliged to play in the northern summer to finance their domestic game as well as embarking on tours during the northern winter.

“It is asking a lot to play cricket just all-year round,” Fletcher said.

“Somewhere along the line we have to reduce the amount they play.—AFP