Michael Vaughan is determined to show England he put his time in Pakistan to good use by earning a recall to the Test line-up at the end of an injury-plagued year.

Yorkshire batsmen Vaughan was expected to begin the second leg of England's winter itinerary as an established member of the team, having recovered from a hand injury to make important contributions to the fabulous series win over West Indies.

Instead, he begins the build-up to England's opening two-day practice match against a Colts XI on Monday with a place in the starting line-up uncertain after missing the majority of the tour to Pakistan with a calf injury.

His time on the sidelines was far from wasted with Vaughan studying the techniques of Michael Atherton and Graham Thorpe in thwarting Saqlain Mushtaq and the other Pakistan spinners.

Despite being denied valuable practice in Pakistan by his injury, he plans to put that dedication to good use and force the tourists into picking him for the opening Test in Galle on February 22.

''It was very frustrating not to play, but I'm quite a good watcher even if I don't look at every ball,'' he explained. ''I tried to watch as much as I could when Atherton and Thorpe were playing and looked at the way they handled the Pakistan seam and spin bowlers.

''If I can bring any part of their game into my own game then it's bound to serve me well. They were both very patient in the way they played, they didn't always look for the big shots.

''They were willing to knock the ball around for ones and twos and do a lot of running between the wickets. I really admire the way they manoeuvred the ball around the field and let the Pakistan team chase it.

''Playing at Headingley, I don't come up against spin all that often and I've never played against a high-class spin bowler in Test cricket, so it is a new challenge for me.''

Vaughan is realistic enough to concede that before he can put his theories into practice, he must first win the battle for the remaining batting place, which is likely to be against Graeme Hick with England expected to stick to their winning formula from Pakistan with six batsmen and two spinners.

Worcestershire batsmen Hick has already had one vote of confidence from coach Duncan Fletcher, who claimed: ''Some of the criticism of Graeme in Pakistan I thought was unfair because he played a vital innings to help us win the Test in Karachi.

''I've seen players before who fail time and time again and suddenly they make the breakthrough, so it's always difficult when you are deciding whether to drop someone.''

With that in mind, Vaughan will need to make a significant score in either of the two four-day matches leading up to the first Test, the first one starting next Thursday against a Board President's XI in Colombo.

''The wickets over here will probably be very similar to Pakistan and the side we picked over there was two spinners and six batsmen and I would have thought it would be similar over here,'' he said.

''There are seven batsmen here so one player is going to miss out and I'm just going to try to do as well as I can before the first Test. If I get the chance in one of the four-day games I've got to make sure I get a score and put pressure on the selectors.

''My bowling could help because any batsmen who can bowl a bit always has a better chance of getting in the team.''

l India Under-19s edged home by three wickets in a low-scoring first one-day international against England in Hyderabad