Just as Andrew Flintoff’s dodgy ankle seems to be back in working order, the second-most troublesome joint in English cricket, Michael Vaughan’s right knee, has started to plague the England captain once again. After moving uneasily for the past two days, Vaughan did not come out to field after tea yesterday. Instead, he sat in the players’ viewing area with his leg raised, an ice pack perched on his knee, as Durham completed a comfortable victory.

It was a grimly familiar sight. As with Flintoff’s ankle, Vaughan’s knee has undergone surgery four times and it ruled him out of Test cricket for 18 months between December 2005 and May last year. Any recurrence of the injury would cast serious doubt on the extent of his recovery and his ability to lead England’s Test team in the longer term.

Martyn Moxon, the Yorkshire director of cricket, said that Vaughan would not miss the first Test against South Africa, which begins tomorrow week. However, there must be at least an element of uncertainty, given the discomfort that Vaughan has clearly felt since he landed heavily when diving to save a boundary on Monday morning. As well as the knee problem, Moxon said that Vaughan has a few “aches and pains”, details of which are likely to become clear this week.

“As I understand it, there’s no danger of him missing the Test match,” Moxon said. “He’s got a few niggles and his knee is a little sore. He just needs a bit of time to let these niggles settle.”

Although Vaughan moved from his overnight score of 48 to 72 yesterday, striking the ball confidently, whenever he had to sprint — either between the wickets or, later, in the field — his movement was restricted.

Once Durham had moved within reach of their target of 111 at tea, it was decided not to risk his knee any more. “There was no reason \ with 50 runs required, he could get some ice on his knee and there was no further damage done,” Moxon said.

While Vaughan was off the field, Paul Collingwood fought his way towards fluency with the bat, watched by Geoff Miller, the national selector. With Michael Di Venuto, Collingwood added an unbroken 105 as Durham secured the victory that took them level on points with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at the top of the first division.

Yorkshire: First Innings 184

Second Innings (overnight 88-2)
M P Vaughan b S J Harmison 72
A Lyth c Mustard b S J Harmison 80
A W Gale c Mustard b Thorp 32
†G L Brophy c B W Harmison b Thorp 18
A U Rashid c Collingwood b Plunkett 6
T T Bresnan c Mustard b Plunkett 10
*D Gough b Thorp 34
S A Patterson b Plunkett 6
M J Hoggard not out 0

Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 1, nb 4) 10

Total (65.4 overs) 273

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-13, 3-151, 4-184, 5-201, 6-213, 7-233, 8-233, 9-253.

Bowling: S J Harmison 20-4-97-2; Thorp 18.4-3-71-5; Plunkett 13-0-49-3; Collingwood 7-1-31-0; Wiseman 6-0-15-0; B W Harmison 1-0-5-0.

Durham: First Innings 347 (P Mustard 92, L E Plunkett 68 not out; T T Bresnan 5 for 94)

Second Innings
B W Harmison c Bresnan b Hoggard 2
M J Di Venuto not out 65
W R Smith c Brophy b Hoggard 0
P D Collingwood not out 44

Extras (nb 2) 2

Total (2 wkts, 27.2 overs) 113

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-8.

Bowling: Hoggard 6-1-22-2; Bresnan 8-2-35-0; Patterson 8-3-19-0; Gough 2-1-10-0; Rashid 3.2-0-27-0.

Umpires: P J Hartley and N A Mallender.