England captain Michael Vaughan has pulled out of the first Test against New Zealand starting at Lord's on Thursday after injuring his right knee in practice.

A spokesman for the England and Wales Cricket Board said Vaughan had made the decision after seeing a physiotherapist on Wednesday morning.

His opening partner Marcus Trescothick will take over the captaincy for the first time in a Test while Middlesex opener Andrew Strauss had been called in to the England squad.

Trescothick, who struggled with the bat during England's successful tour of the Caribbean, told a news conference he did not think the captaincy would affect his form.

"I'm quite happy to do the job," he said. "It's never really bothered me too much. It's a huge honour doing it at the home of cricket for the first Test of the series."

Vaughan, who has a history of cartilage problems with his right knee, sustained the injury while playing a sweep shot in the nets on Monday.

"As I went to stand up my body twisted and I just felt my knee lock," he said.

Trescothick said Vaughan was applying ice to his knee and hoped to be fit for the second Test starting at Headingley in Leeds on June 10.

England go into Thursday's game on the back of a 3-0 Test series victory over West Indies, their first in the Caribbean since 1968.