Borthwick is not thinking about the captaincy long term

Steve Borthwick has described his selection as England captain for the tour to New Zealand next month as a "great honour".

The 28-year-old Bath lock will lead England in the absence of Wasps prop Phil Vickery, who will miss the tour because of injury.

"To represent your country is great, and to be selected in the squad is outstanding," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But to be also asked to be captain of England is a great honour."

Vickery was appointed as England skipper in January last year, replacing Leicester flanker Martin Corry as captain in former coach Brian Ashton's first squad.

His role as skipper has been called into question during the World Cup and the Six Nations but Borthwick says he has not dwelled on the prospect of taking over from Vickery on a permanent basis.

"That thought has not crossed my mind," he added. "Phil is an outstanding captain and it is a shame for everybody that, as a rugby player and a leader, we will not have him with us in New Zealand.

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"I am sure he is working tremendously hard on his rehabilitation and I am sure he will be back very soon.

"I am just concentrating on finishing the season really well for Bath and then enjoying this tour, which hopefully will be a very good one for England."

Borthwick, who is joining Saracens over the summer, has already captained England, leading the side in the Six Nations match against Italy when Vickery fell ill before the game.

And the Carlisle-born second row believes that a new-look England can be competitive against the All Blacks on their two-Test tour.

"New Zealand have the capability to beat any team in the world," he said. "They are an outstanding team.

"But we also have some outstanding players, in the last year we have been to the final of the World Cup and finished second in the Six Nations. We are a very good team as well.

"We know we will have to be at the very best of our abilities but that is the great thing about professional sport, it's about testing yourself against the very best."

Borthwick will lead a 32-man squad boasting six uncapped players.

Care was once an apprentice at Sheffield Wednesday's Academy

One of them, 21-year-old Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care, said he was shocked at getting a call-up.

"I stuck the television on and my name flashed up," Care told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I didn't expect to be in it.

"I was chuffed when I saw my name up there. Playing for England is a massive honour and playing against a team like New Zealand will be unbelievable."

Care won his place following an impressive season for Quins, which saw the club just missing out on a place in the Premiership end-of-season play-offs.

He was named in England's training squad during the Six Nations but did not get a game.

And with Leicester's Harry Ellis not considered for the tour as he continues his rehabilitation from the serious knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup, Care has a fantastic opportunity to make the number nine shirt his own.

"Danny has had a great second half of the season," said the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby Rob Andrew.

"When he first moved to Harlequins from Leeds he did not play a great deal but in the second half of the season particularly he has made the starting shirt his own.

"He has probably been the catalyst that has kicked Quins off. They have done so well.

"It is a great chance for him to put his name forward with the senior squad."

The England squad is the first named by new manager Martin Johnson as he looks to build a side to challenge for the 2011 World Cup.

"If we come back from New Zealand with guys we know we can trust to play international rugby it puts us in a position of strength," said Johnson.

If we go over and reach somewhere near our potential we will be very competitive England team manager Martin Johnson

Care joins London Irish trio Nick Kennedy, Topsy Ojo and David Paice, Bristol prop James Hobson and Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley as the new faces in the England party.

England play New Zealand on 14 June and 21 June with Johnson's men hoping to take advantage of an All Blacks shorn of players such as Carl Hayman, Luke McAlister and Chris Jack - who now all play in Europe.

But Johnson says New Zealand will still present a formidable challenge despite the missing players.

"We are going to play a side that at every stage in history has probably been one, two or at the very worst third in the world," Johnson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"A few of their players have gone overseas but their strength in depth is fantastic so we will worry about who they have playing, not who they have missing.

"There has never been a bad All Blacks side. It is as tough a tour as you will ever go on.

"They will have a few guys in there who weren't starters in previous seasons but they will all have international experience and they will be a formidable side.

"Performance is what it is all about. We feel the team we have got, the players we have got, if we go over and reach somewhere near our potential we will be very competitive."