Giles confident over fitness

Ashley Giles is confident of being available for England's tour of India © Getty Images

More good news for England. A day after Michael Vaughan indicated that his progress is coming along well, Ashley Giles announced that he is on course to recover from hip surgery ready for England's tour of India. The operation took place in December - meaning Giles missed the ODIs against Pakistan - to try to give him enough recovery time for the Indian tour which starts in late February. He has already returned to training.

"There's still a bit of soreness from the operation," Giles told The Telegraph, "But I saw the specialist last week. He's happy with my rehabilitation, and I am confident of making it."

England name their squad for the second leg of their sub-continental winter on Friday, with Giles one of three key players aiming to return after injuries.

Vaughan is expected to be available after a successful knee operation, although he has yet to start training again. Simon Jones is still recovering from the bone spur operation that forced him to miss the final Test against Australia and the Pakistan trip.