Vaughan won't rush Giles

Michael Vaughan knows how important Giles is for England, but won't rush him back into the team © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan has said that he won't rush Ashley Giles back into action during England's tour of India, despite the importance the left-arm spinner to the attack on the subcontinent. Giles is confident of recovering for the trip, following surgery on his hip, but Vaughan is adamant that he can't play half-fit.

"It's so important we get him back but we are not going to take him if he is like he was in Pakistan," Vaughan said in an interview with The Daily Express newspaper. "He has to be fit and mentally right. He is going to bowl this week and it's still six weeks until the first Test."

The selectors have left one space in the tour squad open for a third spinner, to accompany Giles and Shaun Udal, but Vaughan knows how important it is to have his No. 1 option available for the tough conditions.

"Ashley is a big, big man for our team. He has played 52 Tests and is at the heart of the set-up," Vaughan added. "If you lose Ashley you are going to have to throw someone else in who probably hasn't played into what is the hardest tour of them all."

Vaughan is also willing for Giles to forego the two warm-up matches before the opening Test if he needs extra time. "If it means the first 10 days of the trip are part of his rehab I'd take that, as long as he is fit for the first Test."

Ian Blackwell, Monty Panesar and Alex Loudon are the three spinners competing for the spare spot in the tour squad, but they will struggle to give Vaughan the same control as Giles.

An even more vital cog in the England team, Andrew Flintoff, has yet to decide whether he will be available for the third Test, in Mumbai, which coincides with the time that his wife, Rachael, is due to give birth to their second child.

"I'd like to be at the birth but I'll have to talk to Rachael about it before we decide anything," he explained. "I will have a chat with the captain and coach about it, but it's very hard to plan these things - my daughter Holly was born a week early and if that happens again it will throw all the plans up in the air."

However, Flintoff is certain about one thing - he wants to make his mark on the tour. It was on the 2001-02 visit to India that Flintoff's stuttering international career began to take off. It was his bowling that kept him in the team, with his bounce causing discomfort for the Indians. He struggled with the bat, making just 26 runs in five innings, and is aiming to perform with both aspects of his game this time.

"I've played in India before and I know how difficult it can be. I know after the last trip there I came back a better bowler by the end of it but I struggled throughout that trip with my batting and hopefully that will improve this time.

"We know it's going to be a tough tour and there is a big year ahead with the Ashes tour and the World Cup, but we are a good team and we all want to keep improving."