Vaughan drawing on sweet memories of Kandy

Michael Vaughan was only an onlooker when England were last here. But he believes the nail-biting victory of nearly three years ago can further inspire his team this week.

Vaughan is full of good vibes anyway, thanks to the battling draw in Galle last week.

But before England go into the Second Test at the Asgiriya Stadium tomorrow, he and six other survivors from the squad of 2001 will remind themselves how Sri Lanka came a spectacular cropper in this town.

"We've got good memories of the ground," said Vaughan. "We played well here last time and won a fantastic game of cricket."

Vaughan, like fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, failed to make the starting XI on England's most recent visit to Kandy. But Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Ashley Giles and Robert Croft all contributed to an odds-defying three-wicket win.

Unlike Vaughan's side, Hussain's team of 2001 were beaten by an innings in Galle. But they stunned Sri Lanka with the strength of their comeback in Kandy - and then shocked them again in Colombo to take the series 2-1. All that is history now, but recent enough to be relevant to those who did well here. Such as Hussain, who scored a vital century.

England's former captain is ready for action, despite taking longer than expected to recover from the flu-like symptoms which kept him out of the First Test.

Vaughan added: "Nasser is a fighter, he's declared himself fit and he'll bat at No 4." Sri Lanka insist Muttiah