England in 'Good Spirits'

Captain Michael Vaughan has said that Tuesday's win over a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI should send England into the Test series in "good spirits."

"It's always good to win a game of cricket and winning in this part of the world is always difficult," said Vaughan.

"it can't do any harm to win here.  How much of an impace it has on the Test series, we'll have to wait and see but it is certainly better to win these games than lose them.

"At the stage yesterday when we were bowled out for 134 it looked like we were going to lose, so to come through and win, and show a lot of character, is a good sign for the team."

On the back of centuries from Pietersen and Cook, England earned the five-wicket win in spite of a 164-run deficit on first innings.

"Towards the end of the innings we saw the old Kevin Pietersen coming back with his flamboyant strokes," said Vaughan.  "It was a pretty good sight for the team."

Just twenty-four hours earlier England took the field for a second time with only Hoggard available of the pace bowlers.  Fears of an ankle injury for Anderson meant he was rested as a precautionary measure and Harmison was sidelined with a back spasm.

The squad now heads to Kandy for Saturday's first Test, confidence up after Tuesday's result, with Harmison on the mend, a scan having shown no new injury to his back.

"All I know is that today he is moving a lot better, yesterday he was moving a lot more gingerly," said Vaughan, commenting on Harmison's current condition.  "We will have to wait and see how he responds over the next 48 hours."