'Batting at No. 3 is an option' - Vaughan

Michael Vaughan has indicated that he could move up to No. 3 in the batting order for the Tests this season. Vaughan has batted at the position only six times in his Test career so far, but suggested it was an option for the summer's matches against Bangladesh and Australia.

Speaking to the media in Stormont, Belfast, where Yorkshire were playing Ireland in a C&G Trophy match, he said: "Batting at three is an option. We've talked about it. A couple of the players we're mentioning for selection might depend on whether I bat there or not. I certainly wouldn't turn down batting at three. It's not a massive change. Whatever's best for the team, really."

Vaughan batted at No. 4 throughout last season, but had a rather indifferent time, averaging just 30.75 in the five-Test series in South Africa. His best stats are by far at the top of the order, where he has scored ten of his 13 hundreds and averages 49.70 in 31 matches, but with Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss sealing those spots, No. 3 might be the next-best option for him.

If he moves up the order, Mark Butcher will almost certainly miss out through the entire season. Butcher has been struggling with a wrist injury and is virtually ruled out of the two-Test series against Bangladesh. In such a scenario, the battle for No. 5 slot will also hot up. Robert Key, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen are the leading contenders at the moment, but while Key and Bell have already scored centuries in county matches this season, Pietersen has struggled, making four single-digit scores and one half-century in his first five innings.

"A lot of the England players who have come back haven't scored many runs," Vaughan admitted, probably hinting at the form of Trescothick, Strauss and Thorpe, who have all had a poor start to the season. "They'll be feeling they need time in the middle over the next three weeks." Vaughan himself hasn't played a competitive game for nearly three months, and was eager for a good hit. "A good hundred under my belt for Yorkshire would do me the world of good."

England's international season begins with the first Test against Bangladesh at Lord's from May 26, while the Ashes starts on July 21.