Michael Vaughan has put his own ambitions on hold to signal the England squad's desire for Nasser Hussain to continue as captain beyond the World Cup campaign.

As the leading contender to become the next England captain, Yorkshire batsman Vaughan has most to gain if Hussain decides to give it up at the end of this tournament.

But Vaughan, who has already led England at under-19 and A-team level, is in no hurry to replace Hussain and yesterday voiced the thoughts of all the squad after they arrived in Port Elizabeth to prepare for tomorrow's Pool A match against Namibia.

''Nasser's doing a fantastic job and we're all behind him and hope he'll continue,'' stressed Vaughan, who marked his World Cup debut with an impressive 51 off only 47 balls against Holland at Buffalo Park.

''First and foremost the job isn't available and I'm just concentrating on my batting. It's my first World Cup, which is a fantastic occasion, and I'm determined I'm going to go out and enjoy it.

''But if after the end of this tournament or in a year's time the job becomes available then obviously I'd like my name to be mentioned. But for now I'm just happy to carry on playing.''

Vaughan has emerged as the leading contender, probably ahead of Marcus Trescothick, after an outstanding 2002, when he scored 1,664 runs and prompted Shane Warne to label him as the best batsman in the world.

He has not had the same impact yet at one-day level, although a succession of injuries has limited his appearances to 22, but it has not stopped the inevitable speculation about his expected succession to captain.

''I've not known many people turn the job down before but it's not available and at the moment I'm inexperienced as a captain and I'm sure there will be a number of players who would like to be mentioned,'' stressed Vaughan.

''I'm always thinking about the game when I'm on the field, but at the moment it's pretty hard just being an international cricketer and that's what I'm concentrating my efforts on for now.''

While Hussain's future remains open to speculation, the England squad were just happy to get back to playing after a couple of weeks concentrating on meetings deciding whether to play their scheduled opening match in Zimbabwe.

''It's been a breath of fresh air to get out on the pitch,'' added Vaughan. ''We've been in South Africa two-and-a-half weeks and only played two warm-up games and that's a long time to go without playing.

''It was great to get back out and start thinking about batting and bowling and fielding again. We just want to get on with our World Cup and do what we do best, which is playing cricket.

''Our concentration levels were good from ball one against Holland. We know when you're playing a team like Holland you can be beaten so you have to be on your game and you have to be spot on.''

* Namibia captain Deon Kotze believes his country's presence at the World Cup will be of huge benefit to the game, despite their crushing loss to Pakistan.

The African minnows were completely out of their depth against fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar in Kimberley, crumbling to 84 all out to lose by 171 runs.

Kotze said: ''I don't think cricket can grow globally if it's kept to a select group of 10 or 11 or 12 teams.

''Zimbabwe are a classic example. After playing Test cricket for years finally they are very competitive at this level.''

Kotze believes his side will learn enormously from the experience."