Nascent England must distance themselves from old failures

It may be perceived common knowledge that Graham Thorpe never captained England, and that Andrew Strauss made his international debut at Lord's in 2004, marking it with a century. Both statements are incorrect. but there is a link. Thorpe did captain his country, in the ODIs in Sri Lanka in 2000 after Nasser Hussain was invalided home; Strauss' first innings in England colours was not his century against New Zealand, but a slightly less auspicious 3 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in late 2003. Thorpe's England lost all three matches; Strauss' international bow was as part of an England team which crashed to 88 all out, a total Thorpe's team failed to double in three games. Both events have been buried fairly deep in the consciousness, but nevertheless rank amongst some of the most ignominious of England's myriad one-day disasters away from home. The relevance is that England haven't had much success playing one-day cricket in Sri Lanka; in fact they have just one win, and that back in Sri Lanka's minnow days in 1982. And with hardly a moment's rest following 7 50 over matches against India, and a dismal campaign at the World Twenty20, Sri Lanka is where England find themselves facing their biggest challenge as a team under the command of Moores and Collingwood.

As last summer's "bluewash" showed, England have enough problems with the Sri Lankan ODI team at home, let alone in the country itself, one of the hardest places to tour. However, this is a very different side, and after two unexpected results over the summer - a series loss against West Indies countered by an unlikely victory in the marathon against India - it is in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka that their true stock as a team will emerge.

It will be largely the same side which defeated India to take on arguably the second-best one-day team in the world, although Andrew Flintoff is a notable absentee. Alistair Cook will have another chance to stake his claim for the opener's berth long-term, after starting well against India and tailing off dramatically. England will need his adhesion if they are to avoid such meagre totals as on their last two visits. He will have a new partner after Matt Prior fractured his thumb in South Africa and the call has gone out to Durham man Phil "colonel" Mustard, who impressed with his rapid scoring in late summer, although replicating Chester-le-Street form in Kandy may prove troublesome. The middle order sorts itself, with Ian Bell now established at first drop, preceding Pietersen, who will want a big series to dispel some recent doubts about his one-day form., and captain Paul Collingwood, whose contribution across the board will be critical. The Asian wristiness of Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara in the lower-middle order completes a batting unit which appears more spin-savvy than previous outfits.

With the absence of Flintoff resulting in a slight imbalance, they then have to decide whether to play both spinners, which would also give the comfort of Graeme Swann's useful batting at 8, or to ask Stuart Broad to take the responsibility of coming in at 6 wickets down. The need for at least three front-line seamers and the desire to get the left-arm seam of Ryan Sidebottom into the team will probably mean that Swann misses out to begin with, as should Dimitri Mascarenhas, whose bowling will be no more useful than Collingwood's, although that would mean the England captain having to take the responsibility of a full bowling shift, something he has not always been comfortable with when it is a necessity rather than a bonus.

Their opposition will be the usual mixture of thunder, subtlety, intrigue and spin. The English bowlers can comfort themselves with the thought that this is surely the last time they will have to contend with the unique talents of Sanath Jayasuriya, although his protege Upul Tharanga is turning into a fairly fearful proposition himself. The two princes of Sri Lankan batting populate the middle order, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who are both hard to dislodge as well as rein in. The lower order ballast is provided by the assured Dilshan and the more excitable and dangerous Chamara Silva, while Chaminda Vaas lurks with intent at 8. Even with Muralitharan absent for at least the first three games, the bowling will provide a stiff challenge, a seam trio of Vaas, Malinga and Fernando supplemented by leg-spin all-rounder Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Jaysuriya's omnipresent slow left-arm.

5 games and a scheduled 500 overs may seem a lot squeezed into less than a fortnight, but if England struggle as have their predecessors, then the time will pass very slowly, and their unity and collective skill as a team will be plunged into the furnace- they will have to more than double their number of ODI wins in the country if they are to emerge with credit.