ENGLAND captain, Michael Vaughan, believes it will be a disaster if Test matches and other international games stop being played at Headingley.

Yorkshire are currently involved in last-gasp negotiations aimed at persuading Leeds City Council to lend them £9m to buy the ground but if a deal is not clinched by December 31, the England and Wales Cricket Board will tear up the 15-year agreement which allows Test matches to be staged at Headingley until 2019.

It is hoped that Yorkshire can re-negotiate some of the fine print of their agreement with their landlords, Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company, in time for the county club's extraordinary general meeting on Christmas Eve.

If Leeds Council are happy with the situation, they will hold a special meeting of their own the following week, when a final decision will be made over whether to stump up the cash.

Vaughan, who made his Yorkshire debut in 1993, said: "England have had some great games at Headingley over the last few years and it really does need to be sorted out because Test matches and one-day internationals would not be the same without some of them being played on the ground."

Vaughan, whose wife, Nichola, has just given birth to their second child, Archie Matthew, returned home from Pakistan last week for an operation on his injured knee and he is delighted with the progress he is making.

He is due to see the England physiotherapist today and plans to do some exercises in the swimming pool on Monday.

"The real test will come in the New Year when I am running and twisting the knee but a week after the operation everything is going well," he said.

Vaughan is confident he will be fully fit to lead England on their tour of India which starts in late February.