Pietersen backs Vaughan to be given England central contract

England will on Tuesday reveal which players are to be most handsomely rewarded over the coming months - and the presence or otherwise of Michael Vaughan's name will be most intriguing.

Former captain Vaughan, 33, is expected to be among the dozen rewarded with 12-month central contracts despite his lack of form for Yorkshire since relinquishing the Test leadership to Kevin Pietersen.

Of Englishmen, only Michael Atherton captained England on more occasions than the 51 Vaughan managed and no-one comes close in the wins column.

But the selectors must look beyond the sentimental vote and consider whether he is still good enough to feature for his country over the next year.

National selector Geoff Miller will reveal the decision at Lord's at the same time the 15-man squad to take part in the £10million Stanford challenge and seven one-day internationals in India is announced.

"What I would do is not give Michael Vaughan a central contract but I would take him on the tours of India and West Indies," former England colleague Graham Thorpe, speaking at the npower Village Cup final, said.

"Both Michael Vaughan himself and the captain would have to know that he could do it still.

"I still think he is a good enough player but there are a few unknowns to the situation.

"It might be that he turns around at some stage and says he cannot do it any more.

"There are questions that need to be answered; let's see what he is like without the captaincy; let's see if he can flourish as a batsman again.

"If he was in good form you would want him playing against Australia next year.

"It is worth knowing whether he has the drive, hunger and desire to score those kind of runs once more."

Since quitting in the aftermath of Test series defeat to the South Africans last month, Vaughan has been unequivocal in his desire to extend his international career and participate in another Ashes series next summer.

But he has failed four times with the bat for Yorkshire since and is running out of time to prove his worth ahead of the Test squad to tour India being announced on September 29.

In truth, he has been living somewhat on reputation as a batsman during the past injury-plagued three years, having shown only fleeting glimpses of the class that made him man of the series in the 2002-03 Ashes defeat and elevated his status briefly to that of Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara.

There is also the matter of how he copes post-captaincy, should the selection be favourable.

"We should applaud him on the England captaincy for the period he did the job," added Thorpe.

"But former England captains getting back into the side have found it different adapting to life back in the ranks.

"Michael Atherton did it fairly well, Nasser Hussain didn't do it as well, I would say. It is not always comfortable going back to being a foot soldier."

Centrally-contracted players are chosen primarily on their perceived worth over the following 12 months - although the award to Andrew Strauss a year ago broke the mould somewhat when he was subsequently left out for the tour of Sri Lanka.

Few changes to the 2007 set are anticipated, although Vaughan's county colleague Matthew Hoggard will be one man to drop out of the equation.

The one-day party also virtually picks itself after the crushing 4-0 victory over South Africa in the recent NatWest Series.

The unchanged XI for those matches, supplemented by Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom, if fit after a back problem, can prepare to board the flight to Antigua ahead of the November 1 showdown with Sir Allen Stanford's All Stars.

It is a date which will potentially alter lives, given the £500,000 on offer to players on the winning side, but there is no resentment towards his successors from Thorpe.

"We earned more money than our predecessors and did well out of the game and it has always been the case that the next generation has the chance to be paid a little bit more," he added.

"The next generation to this one will be going to the moon on rockets.

"But I have never been one for looking in other people's gardens - if you get the opportunity then fair play.

"Sometimes money can make people go off the rails, so it is not always good, and most will still play because they love the game."

However, cricket as it is known will change when England walk out for that 20-over match in the Caribbean, with huge purses now decided by near misses.

"Cricket may go through this change," said Thorpe.

"It's not for everybody.

"Football had to overcome a vast change in salaries and so now will cricket.

"Drop a catch in a tight game and it will not be a nice feeling.

"It is similar to football, I guess, when penalties are missed in big tournaments."