Flintoff key to English ODI revival against India: Vaughan

London, Aug 21 (UNI) After losing the home Test series against India under his captaincy, Michael Vaughan feels that the return of Andrew Flintoff in the side could act as the much needed catalyst for success in the shorter version of the game.

Vaughan believes that Collingwood has a squad capable of beating India, particularly with Flintoff back in the squad and the emergence of Chris Tremlett.

''Andrew Flintoff plays a huge part because of the balance of the side with him in it,'' Vaughan said.

''He offers a captain control, pace and wicket options. He has got the ability with the bat to change a game and he's got the ability in the field to take that special catch. The break he has had will drive him even more, I know that from being out of the game myself last year. The only thing is to make sure that he doesn't want it too much.

''Sometimes when you want something so much it can go further away from you. If he can enjoy his cricket and relax at the crease, the break can do him the world of good,'' the 2003 Wisden cricketer of the year said.

The 32-year-old said, ''The attack looks quite well balanced. The bounce that Flintoff and Tremlett get gives us more option for wickets in the middle period which is something we didn't have against the West Indies.'' Vaughan, criticised Flintoff's drunken antics at the World Cup after the disastarous World Cup campaign, but the bad blood seems to have disapeared with former England's ODI captain acknowledging the allrounder's importance to the England side which today starts its campaign in the seven-match one-day series against India.

Vaughan, England's Test captain, will have to monitor the series from a distance, having resigned as one-day captain earlier this year.

But he knows the effect of having a fit Flintoff available at the Rose Bowl today, which will be a boost for an England side that has already lost a One-day-series this summer.

Vaughan said, ''Having that kind of player in the dressing room will inspire the rest of the players.

''You always look around the dressing room and look for match-winning players and Andrew Flintoff is undoubtedly in the top three in the world. He's back in the England dressing room, so I know that Paul Collingwood is going to go to sleep tonight a happy man,'' Vaughan was quoted as saying by 'The Telegraph'.

Collingwood's first taste of international captaincy ended in that 2-1 series defeat in the hands of West Indies, but Vaughan believes the series against India, followed by the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, will give him more opportunity to put his ideas on work.

''The West Indies series was three games in a week after four Tests and so you wouldn't have really got a feel for the way Paul was captaining or any new ideas,'' Vaughan said.

''This is a great opportunity for them to formulate new plans and new ideas and for Paul to get a real comfort level in the captaincy seat because it's a two-month period of sustained one-day cricket,'' he added.

UNI