Hayden ready to deliver at one-day level

BRISBANE - Prolific Test run-getter Matthew Hayden is ready to deliver for Australia in one-day cricket.

Despite Hayden's record-breaking feats in the Test arena, he is yet to produce similar performances for his country in the limited-overs arena.

The Allan Border medallist has scored 2354 runs at 49.04 with eight hundreds from 30 Tests, including a record 1391 runs in the 2001 calendar year.

The 30-year-old has not been as dominant in limited overs internationals with 1112 runs at 33.69 from 37 matches with one century.

The powerful left-hander is confident he is on track to raise his performances in one-day cricket.

"I know I have a role to play and that there is confidence in me to do that," he said as the Australians prepared today in Brisbane for next week's tour of Kenya.

Hayden said the tournament against Pakistan and Kenya in Africa and the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka represented important stepping stones for Australia in its bid to retain the Ashes and the World Cup title.

"We've been on a break for a while now - probably the longest we've had off in a decade - and it is great to be back in cricket time," Hayden said.

"We're starting what is going to be a nine-month campaign and it's going to be important to get our momentum going in these two tournaments.

"Now that we know where we are going and what to expect, we can prepare accordingly. You don't just arrive somewhere and play."

Hayden said the players were pleased to be able to focus on the Sri Lankan tournament in the wake of the agreement reached between the Australian Cricket Board and the Australian Cricketers Association yesterday.

"We're fully behind that now," he said.

Hayden and the Australian players trained today on a specially prepared wicket at Allan Border Field, which was designed to replicate the type of pitches they will encounter in Sri Lanka.

"It should spin a bit more than the usual practice wickets so hopefully the spinners will get a bit of turn and the batsmen can work on a few things," he said.

"I don't know as much about what to expect in Kenya, although I know they do have good coffee."

Former Australian baseball manager Mike Young was a guest at training, the third time the one-time Olympic coach has helped prepare the players for one-day tournaments.

The team is in camp until Monday when they leave for Kenya where they will play a tri-series against Pakistan and Kenya.

Meanwhile, the ACB is expected to announce the squad to prepare for the postponed Test series against Pakistan in October within the next few days.

The venue of the series is yet to be confirmed, with Sri Lanka and Sharjah the most likely alternatives.

Most interest in the Test squad will centre on whether national selectors retain Australian Test captain Steve Waugh and twin brother Mark, who were dumped from the one-day squad earlier this year.