Young quickies must learn fast

But it will be lost on none of them that Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick played crucial roles in that 2001 turnaround, fine tuning their fast bowling to suit the conditions and taking 22 wickets between them in the second and third Tests.

There is no Gough and no Caddick following Vaughan into Colombo today. But with Anderson and Andrew Flintoff nicely primed for the one-day internationals and Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard arriving shortly to prepare for Test action, England have plenty of firepower.

The question is whether or not these four 20-somethings with limited experience can learn quickly enough to replicate the performances of Gough and Caddick.

There have been signs of encouragement in Bangladesh. Harmison and Hoggard in the Tests and then Anderson and Flintoff during the one-dayers showed the hostility and accuracy that will be necessary to gnaw away at the Sri Lankans.

Clearly, all four cannot play in the Tests and perhaps only two of them will make it at any one time if Rikki Clarke's increasingly sharp bowling continues to develop. "I think we may well have to rotate the bowlers from here on in, even during next week's one-dayers," said Fletcher. "Players get tired mentally as well as physically and that's when injuries seem to creep in. People in other sports, like rugby, say the same thing."

England did all that could be expected of them in Bangladesh, bearing in mind the margins of victory in two Tests and three one-day internationals. But there is no doubt this winter's real challenges are about to begin.

"It's going to be tough in Sri Lanka, but we've said that all along," added Fletcher. "As this tour progresses it will get more and more difficult. We can gain some benefit from the fact we've played well against them, home and away, in recent years but there's no question of any complacency."

Although England won the Test series of 2001 and then beat Sri Lanka in both forms of cricket during the summer of 2002, the onedayers from two and half years ago were horribly one-sided.

Only Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Flintoff and Giles remain from a squad thumped 3-0. This group, though, appear to be developing along the right lines.

"I think the potential is very high," said Fletcher. "Michael and I talk about a group of maybe 18 players, including some on the fringe, who are really exciting.

"The only concern we've got is to make sure our quick bowlers stay fit and learn how to bowl in all conditions because they will be key performers for us."

Sri Lanka itinerary

Tomorrow Sri Lanka A (Moratuwa)
Tuesday 1st ODI (Dambulla, d/n)
21 Nov 2nd ODI (Colombo, d/n)
23 Nov 3rd ODI (Colombo, d/n)
26-28 Nov Sri Lanka A (Colombo)
2-6 Dec First Test (Galle)
10-14 Dec Second Test (Kandy)
18-22 Dec Third Test (Colombo)