SYDNEY (Reuters):

Michael Vaughan says he wants the England captaincy back when he returns to the team for next month's one-day series with Australia and New Zealand.

Andrew Flintoff led the team during England's failed Ashes campaign while Vaughan was recovering from knee surgery.

Despite his team's failure, Flintoff said he wanted to keep the captaincy as long as he could, but Vaughan said he was keen to take over when he comes back.

"If it was made available, God, I reckon it's one of the best jobs in the world," Vaughan told a news conference in Melbourne. "But I'm sure 'Freddie' (Flintoff) and Andrew Strauss would be saying exactly the same thing, so it will be a tough decision for them to make."

Speculation about the England captaincy has intensified after the selectors announced their one-day squad on Thursday, but delayed the naming of the captain until after the Test series.

Flintoff's leadership has been heavily criticised by the British media with claims the extra burden of captaincy had blunted his skills as a player.

Some reports have suggested Vaughan was assured of taking over when he finally returns, but he dismissed the claims.

"That decision will be made, out of my hands, in the next couple of weeks - I've been given no indication of which way they're going to go," he said.

"I'm sure you all think that it's all been made up, but there's still two Tests to go and 'Freddie' has done a decent job in hard circumstances."

Fitness test

Vaughan still has to pass a fitness test before he can play in the one-day series but said he was confident of returning after a long rehabilitation.

"I'm really pleased with the progress over the last few weeks," he said.

"There were always a few little periods when I thought I didn't think I was going to get to represent my country again."

Vaughan also expressed his surprise at fast bowler Steve Harmison's decision to retire from one-day cricket after missing selection from the squad.

"These retirement decisions are purely personal, I respect his decision, I'm sure he's thought long and hard about making that decision," Vaughan said.

"He feels it's probably going to prolong his Test career, so you have to respect that."