England close in on finishing line

It's the end of a long, successful summer for Michael Vaughan and England. And the home straight is the Champions Trophy. With Australia having frozen out New Zealand, England find themselves with Sri Lanka to beat to set up an Ashes semi-final. While the spectators will be licking their lips at the prospect of that, the players might be a bit more circumspect - England have not beaten Australia in a one-dayer in 14 matches dating back to January 1999.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a slight bit of tiredness in the team, but we realise it's three big games to play to finish off what could be a fantastic summer," said Vaughan ahead of Friday's match against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl. And he knows the Sri Lankans aren't going to roll over and play dead just to give England their dream clash. "Sri Lanka are a good side. They have depth and experience. This competition is wide open for anyone to take. The way we played India has given us a huge confidence boost."

For England it might be the fag end of the summer, but for the Rose Bowl, one of the better-planned grounds in England, it is a huge game. They've sold out already - 16,000 fans will be in the stadium - and for the first time host an England international. Five years after the ground opened, it finally has the game it's been waiting for. But Vaughan's memories of this venue aren't great. He has only played there once: "I played a four-day game which was washed out for the first three days, and Wasim Akram bowled me for 1 on the other."

That said, Vaughan did not think the pitch was as bad as some people have made it out to be so far. "With a 10.15 start there's bound to be a little bit in the wicket," he said. "So far in the tournament the wickets haven't done much. If they've done it they've done it throughout the day. It looks a decent wicket out there."

But England prefer to prepare for the opposition they're up against rather than the pitch. Certainly the Rose Bowl has not served up a particularly tough surface as yet. If you get your eye in, assess the pace and bounce properly, and choose the right bowlers to go after, there's certainly value for shots. And that is only to be expected of an English pitch in mid-September.

Speaking of Sri Lanka and pitches, they aren't too flash outside their Serendip Isle. Their record overseas has improved in recent times, but everyone knows that Sri Lanka away are not the daunting force they are at home. The strangulating quintet of spinners finds it harder to grip the surface and take control of the middle overs. Chaminda Vaas is still good for an early wicket or two and a canny spell at the end of the innings, but that might not be enough if the batting doesn't pull together.

Several of their batsmen play as if they wouldn't receive their match fees if they failed to entertain crowds baying for sixes and fours. Marvan Atapattu, the exception to that band of jolly swishers, has to give backbone to the team with his batting and leadership. Sri Lanka may be vulnerable playing in English conditions, but England - even this team that has improved beyond recognition in Test cricket - over-rate themselves in the shorter version of the game. Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison turned in virtually Australian performances over the last season, but others have been more decidedly English.

"We had a chat about giving the game one last big effort," said Vaughan. "When you're in a rich vein of form, like Freddie and Harmison are, you want to just keep going." And it's those two that can carry England past Sri Lanka - and, who knows, maybe even Australia.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Vikram Solanki, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Andrew Strauss, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Alex Wharf, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve Harmison.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Avishka Gunawardene, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 4 Saman Jayantha, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Mahela Jayawardene, 7 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 8 Upul Chandana, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Zoysa.