Moody prepared as Sri Lankans arrive in England

The Sri Lankan tourists are braced for a pace onslaught in England's unfamiliar early-season conditions, after arriving in the country for the start of their ten-week tour. After a two-week break to recharge their batteries, the coach, Tom Moody, and the captain, Mahela Jayawardene, fronted up to the press just hours after arriving at their team hotel near Lord's.

England lost 1-0 in the last encounter between the two teams, on the 2003-04 tour of Sri Lanka, but Moody accepted that the return leg would be a much tougher proposition for a young and largely inexperienced team.

"Conditions are pretty extreme in Sri Lanka and we know our backyard inside out, but stepping out of that is a challenge," he admitted. "In the past, that hasn't been taken as well as it could be, but we've got some fresh faces on this trip who haven't experienced the same issues away from home, so now's the time to turn a leaf."

Sri Lanka travel as distinct second-favourites, certainly in the Test series, where the loss of two of their most experienced campaigners, Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, will be felt keenly. "There are positives and negatives," insisted Moody. "[Marvan and Sanath] are two wonderful players, but the door is open to a couple of youngsters who could be the future of Sri Lankan cricket."

At present no decision has been made as to which of the three openers - Michael Vandort, Upul Tharanga and Jehan Mubarak - will take their place in the first Test at Lord's, but whoever it is will have to expect a hostile reception from England's pace battery.

"We expect aggression," stressed Moody, "and we'd be alarmed if we didn't get it. The ball will move around, but it can move around everywhere in the world, even in Colombo at times. A lot of our players enjoy facing pace, and it'll be no surprise if the ball whistles around their ears. Sri Lankans are renowned as wonderful players of spin, but when they've come across Brett Lee or Shane Bond, they've equipped themselves very well."

Moody's assertion was backed up by his captain, who pointed to the team's recent visit to Australia, where they reached the final of the VB Series and even won the first match of the rubber. "It was one of the best Australian summers for Sri Lanka ever," insisted Jayawardene. "Brett was bowling very quick, on very quick tracks, but we settled ourselves and knew exactly what to do. We worked very hard to get used to those conditions, and we will do the same here."

Moody's own experience of England will prove invaluable to his team's preparations. He was a regular at Worcestershire throughout the 1990s, and won the World Cup with Australia in May and June 1999. "It's more of an advantage than a disadvantage," he conceded, "but the bottom line is how the team executes its own game-plan. Preparation-wise, we'll be well-equipped."

Though Moody insisted Sri Lanka were here to win, more realistically they are here to learn and compete. "We're in a transitional time as a team, with retirements to key players in both forms of game," he said. "Our main focus is the first three Test matches, then we'll get our head around one-day cricket, but we're here to prepare the next generation."

"In one-day cricket we are planning towards [the World Cup in] 2007, and we've got certain players earmarked in that campaign. We've come here to win, and compete against a good English side in challenging conditions, but along the way, we're here to develop as a team and take advantage of the experience that we get from playing here in England."

In the circumstances, a huge onus is once again going to rest on the shoulders of Sri Lanka's veteran bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, who has been sidelined through injury in recent weeks. "He's got 600 wickets so of course he'll be a key bowler," said Jayawardene of Murali, "but Vaas coming back is great. He's got inside knowledge of English conditions, and he's a great asset because he knows exactly what to do here."

The rest of the attack is somewhat raw by comparison, but Jayawardene was upbeat about their prospects. "These are the young guys who will take us into the next five-six years of Sri Lankan cricket," he said. "Guys like [Farveez] Maharoof are going well, [Nuwan] Zoysa is coming back to form, Lasit Malinga is awkward to face anywhere in the world, so he'll be something new, while Malinga Bandara, the legspinner, had a good season at Gloucester last year."