CRICKET:FORMER ENGLAND cricket captain Michael Vaughan has been sent a clear message by the selectors after he was omitted from the 16-man Test squad for the tour of the West Indies: if you want to play for your country again, you'll have to score runs for Yorkshire first.

"Michael Vaughan has not yet had an opportunity to prove his form in order to be considered for selection for the Test side," said Geoff Miller, the national selector, after naming a tour party that included the 20-year-old Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

"There's got to be justification of why people are included in the side and since Michael's problems last year - when he gave up the captaincy - there's not been an awful lot of runs. He does remain very much in our thoughts as we continue to plan for the Ashes.

"He will play a full part in Yorkshire's pre-season programme, including a tour to Dubai, and we will continue to monitor his form."

Vaughan (34), was one of 12 players awarded a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board in September, but is the only not named for the trip to the Caribbean. His attempts to regain form with Yorkshire after resigning the Test captaincy in August failed, and - following his omission from the senior tour to India - his hopes of scoring runs for the performance squad were ended by the attacks in Mumbai.

Yesterday another potential avenue was closed when Vaughan failed to make the Lions squad for the trip to New Zealand in February. The player who has averaged just 16 in Tests since hitting a century against New Zealand at Lord's in May must now impress for Yorkshire if he is to leapfrog Ian Bell and Owais Shah.

Miller backed Bell by insisting "you don't become a bad player overnight", but would not be drawn on the identity of England's number three for the first Test in Jamaica starting on February 4th.

Rashid's inclusion as spinner is at the expense of Ravi Bopara.