Vaughan puts country ahead of IPL

Michael Vaughan said he did not put himself forward for next week's Indian Premier League auction because his primary focus is a recall to England's Test team.

Vaughan, 34, resigned the England captaincy in August last year and has not played for his country since. Though his career is clearly drawing to a close, he nevertheless opted out of the chance for a handsome paycheque in India because he still believes he can fight his way back into the England team for the Ashes this summer.

"I want to get back into the Test team and the only way to do that is to start the season with Yorkshire, play two or three four-day games and hopefully get a couple of hundreds and put myself in a position to get myself selected for that first Test against West Indies in May," Vaughan told BBC Radio Five Live.

"That is purely a personal decision. Every decision involving the IPL is down to the individual players and my position is to get back into the Test team. I'm not too sure whether I would have been bought at the auction anyway."

Vaughan made his name in the 2002-03 Ashes when he scored 633 runs in the five Tests, and famously captained England to victory on the next occasion the teams met, in 2005. His one-day career, however, was less auspicious. He never managed an ODI century in 86 matches, and featured in just two Twenty20 internationals.

Meanwhile, Shaun Udal has withdrawn his name from the auction, which takes place on February 6, citing his commitments to his county side, Middlesex. Udal, 40, was lured out of retirement by the club then handed the captaincy towards the end of 2008, and felt that he had a debt of gratitude to honour.

"I've decided, after some soul searching and advice from people I trust, not to enter myself into the auction for a variety of reasons," Udal told the Middlesex website. "One of the main reasons being the Middlesex captaincy, which is something that I really treasure."

"If I did get taken on by one of the IPL franchises I would have been coming back after a month or so of the season and it would have an unsettling effect on the squad. I've always preached loyalty and hopefully now I've shown it by not going down the IPL route."