England look to clinch series win

10 October 2007, Colombo

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FOURTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Colombo:
Sri Lanka v England
Match starts at 1000 BST on Wednesday

Paul Collingwood has set his sights on sealing a first one-day series triumph for England in Sri Lanka by winning Wednesday's fourth game in Colombo.

The captain was passed fit after a precautionary scan on his shoulder.

"It's nothing more than a niggle, and I can't wait for the game. I'm hitting the ball well and desperate to get on the park," Collingwood told BBC Sport.

"We're 2-1 up, have a chance to achieve something massive here and take the series home with us. It's exciting."

Collingwood hurt his right shoulder in the first match of the series, which they lost by 119 runs, but the tourists learned from that by winning the next two games on similarly slow pitches in Dambulla.

They will go into the fourth instalment at the Premadasa Stadium in good heart as they look to clinch their first one-day series success on the subcontinent since winning in Pakistan in 1986-87.

"The boys are really up for it," he added. "The boys who have been out on the park have done fantastically well and are all very keen to get out there.

"We're on the verge of it - and that's the key phrase. We haven't done anything yet, when we win more game we can turn around and say we've done something special.

"It's been great but we've got one more to win and I'm enjoying the buzz from boys and the excitement of winning that game. It will be a great achievement to take home."

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, could be without in-form all-rounder Farveez Maharoof after he suffered a back spasm during Sunday's game.

The 23-year-old, who has taken 10 wickets and contributed useful lower-order runs in the three games so far, is receiving treatment.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said: "He had a scan and we've given him the day off to see how he pulls up but his chances are very limited right now. It's unfortunate because he has been playing really well."

Jayawardene wants to see an improvement from his team and believes the situation they find themselves in could bring out the best in them.

"We've got to make sure we get back to the way we play one-day cricket in Sri Lanka," he explained. "We lost quite a lot of wickets close together and guys are getting starts and not finishing it off.

"During the last two games, we've left quite a few overs at the end and in one-day cricket when you're given 50 overs you need to capitalise on that.

"Those are the sort of basic errors we've been making, but I'm quite confident that if we do get the runs on the board the way our bowlers are bowling it does give us a good chance.

"We've been pushed to the wall now. There's nowhere else for us to go but to try and push ourselves back into this series.

"It's probably a good position for us to be in and a good challenge for everyone. We just need to put a bit more effort in to make sure we get that win."

Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wkt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Kausal Lokuarachchi, Dilhara Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof.

England (from): Paul Collingwood (capt), Alastair Cook, Phil Mustard (wkt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Luke Wright, Chris Tremlett.

Source: BBC Sport