England put a new spin on one-day preparation

Since winning their inaugural one-day match in Sri Lanka back in 1982, England have lost the next seven completed one-day internationals on the island, including two 10 wicket defeats.

But a week of determined practice against spin - traditionally their big weakness in one-day cricket during the middle overs - has given England confidence they can finally compete against Sri Lanka in their own conditions.

"I've told the guys to believe we can come out here and win," explained captain Paul Collingwood.

"You can come out to these places and you're already beaten before you go out on the park.

"There is a lot of belief in that dressing room, we have improved and so far we've done a lot of good things in our one-day cricket and we believe we can come out here and do well - I think the guys have got the skills, but it's all about using those skills at the right times."

England's hopes of ending a run of just one win over Sri Lanka in their last eight one-day internationals at home and abroad could hinge on the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Muralitharan is still recovering from a bicep injury he sustained on Lancashire duty this summer and has already been ruled out of the first three matches in the five-match series.

It has boosted England's confidence with Collingwood stressing: "It's obviously a bonus if he's not playing, but the main thing is that we've prepared as if he is playing.

"Our preparation has been fantastic and we've had a good week here now, played on turning wickets during our practice sessions and we've found out our scoring areas.

"It's certainly part of the game we've been looking at, keeping our intent during the middle part of the innings because sometimes you can come out to places like this and it can be very difficult with all the spinners that you face."