Vaughan wants to establish himself as one-day player

Kolkata, January 15: Categorized as a test player for the last couple of years, England's top order batsman Michael Vaughan is determined to shrug off that image and establish himself as a regular member of the team for the shorter version of the game.

''Yes, I don't have a great record in the one-dayers. But now that I have got an opportunity, I want to improve that. I am trying hard to establish myself'', Vaughan told reporters after a strenuous practice session at the Eden Gardens here today.

Vaughan, who has a rather poor average of 7 in his six-match one day international career, said that the one-dayers were a totally different ball game altogether and orthodox players had to make certain alterations to be successful.

''I have not played too many one-day matches in my career, but I want to start doing well from here. It is a great place to redeem your career'', he said.

The 27-year-old Yorkshire batsman, who can bowl a little bit also, said that England had a ''good and youthful'' team but will have to really play competitive cricket to beat the Indians at home.

Asked whether England batsmen planned to counter the Indian spinners by using the reverse sweep which they have been practicing in the nets in the last three days, Vaughan said ''reverse sweep is a very good stroke in the one-dayers. But you have to play it well''.

Asked whether the England bowlers had any special strategy in place for batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and the other Indian batsmen, Vaughan jokingly said ''we will keep that to ourselves''.

The Yorkshire batsman, who had his share of injury problems during his brief career, said that he was fully fit now and was looking forward to the six-match one-day series.

Commenting on the historic Eden Gardens, Vaughan said ''Its an amazing sight and it will be a fantastic experience to play in front of the huge crowd. The facilities here are excellent''.

Vaughan, nicknamed Virgil by his teammates, said that he had some experience of playing at the Eden Gardens as he had played two matches during England 'A' team's tour of India in 1994-95 but had never played at the giant stadium under lights.

On whether the England team will find the fielding conditions difficult in the evening because of the dew factor, he said ''We have no idea how much dew will be there. But we have to adjust''.

Vaughan, who became only the seventh man in test history (and the second Englishman after Graham Gooch) to be given out handling the ball in making 64 in the third test against India in Bangalore last December, said that he had learned from that dismissal and would never repeat it.