England in fresh start in the jungle

England have discovered that ODI cricket is becoming a jungle where only the sharpest, most ruthless and tactically astute survive, so their venture into Sri Lanka's deep south for the third match of the series at Hambantota seems symbolic. Here, the verdant landscape conceals various exotic species; we will have to wait until Wednesday to see if that includes 11 winning Englishmen.

Alastair Cook has already led his men deep into the undergrowth as he attempts to uncover the lost temple concealing a global 50-over trophy. England have never won one and their preparations for the World Cup do not currently suggest they have brought the right maps with them this time either. Victory in a live ODI would do for a start, something they haven't managed since May when they took at 2-1 lead in the home series against Sri Lanka.

Already trailing 2-0, the tour is in danger of disappearing up the local equivalent of the Swanee. Having made the trek down from Colombo in time to practise at the ground - one where they have never played before - they dispatched James Tredwell, donning his metaphorical pith helmet, to present a stoic assessment of the situation.

"I guess the hope is that we can start again," he said. "The games come thick and fast on these tours, so it is sometimes hard to do that, but a change of scenery might bring a change of luck."

What of the persistent murmurings about Cook's suitability for the one-day captaincy? How is he doing after two defeats and a personal tally of 32 runs? "Pretty good I think. Everyone keeps going on about him but we don't really notice it in the dressing room. He's pretty level headed and calm about it. He is a class player and I'm sure there is a score around the corner."

Tredwell also backed Eoin Morgan to come good, after an even more miserable run of form than Cook. There is admirable bravery to Tredwell, whether tossing the ball up in the face of a marauding Angelo Mathews or fronting the media with unblinking cheerfulness. Should a wild boar run in front of the team coach on the way to the ground or an elephant sit down on someone's kit bag, Tredwell's reaction would likely be no more dramatic than on finding the milk had run out after making a cup of tea.

Having run Sri Lanka close in the first game on Wednesday, England suffered a heavy, eight-wicket defeat on the same pitch three days later, which Tredwell admitted had been a dent to confidence. But the team have continued to rally around Cook, with Tredwell suggesting they owed it to each other as a group to turn things around.

"We are a collective and we want to put a team performance together for all of us," he said. "If we can get a win under our belts and do it in the right fashion then that will give us confidence going forward and hopefully that will be the case in this game.

"It is frustrating for everyone really. We're all working as hard as we can on our skills and when things don't go right, it is not a nice feeling for the individual doing it as well as those watching it. We're trying as hard as we can to get things right, and if we get everything right in the same game we're going to hurt people. Certainly the method we used with the bat in the first game, if we can carry that forward and get our skills right with the ball we're going to be a useful unit."

England's batsmen will have to work on their skills without the input of Mark Ramprakash, the batting coach, who departed from Colombo on Sunday in line with his part-time ECB schedule. The team also trained without Chris Woakes, who was suffering from an upset stomach, as was assistant coach Paul Farbrace. They will hope that is the worst of it for now.