Vaughan draws inspiration

Michael Vaughan is keen for his side to show some more fight

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Michael Vaughan is optimistic of repeating the 2001 turnaround Test success in Sri Lanka and gaining some momentum for the longer term.

The England captain leads his side into the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club knowing first-hand how difficult it will be to come back from 1-0 down against Sri Lanka.

Vaughan has experienced it all before, having been part of Nasser Hussain’s team six years ago, which sealed a 2-1 success here.

Stringing some victories together would also be timely in the build-up to the 2009 Ashes.

It was after a 1-0 defeat here four years ago, in fact, that England began a sequence of six consecutive Test series victories, culminating in the 2005 triumph over Australia.

“It has been done here before,” said Vaughan, reflecting on the immediate task in hand.

“It is a real hard ask on these shores to do that but from what we have seen in the first Test there is enough to suggest they’re very beatable.

“We got ourselves into great positions; even on that last day, there were times when I thought they had accepted the draw was going to happen.”

Vaughan added: “We have to start playing some good cricket - but in Kandy I thought we showed a hell of a lot of encouraging signs for a team.

“I remember my tour here a few years ago and you have to be able to fight as a team to move forward.

“That is first and foremost one of the real building blocks for a good side, showing that inner fight.

“But fighting alone doesn’t win you Test matches, you need to have that expertise as well and that is the one area we have to improve this week.”

England need to derail Kumar Sangakkara's run of centuries

One of the main challenges in the Sri Lanka capital will be to derail Kumar Sangakkara’s bid to become only the fourth man in history behind Sir Don Bradman, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf to hit hundreds in five successive Test matches.

The 30-year-old would not be in this position but for a fluffed slip chance by Ian Bell when he was on 98 in the second innings of Sri Lanka’s 88-run victory at Asgiriya.

Nonetheless, Sangakkara was last out first time around for 92 to emphasise how prolific his purple patch has been.

It all started with a career-best 287 against South Africa at the SSC last August, and he has seven three-figure scores in his last nine appearances.

“You admire somebody who is playing at the top of their game,” said Vaughan.

“But he has to fail some time and there is no reason why he cannot fail here this week.”

Anything less than a win here, the scene of a massive innings and 215 run defeat in 2003-04, will see England lose their official status as the world’s second-best Test team.

They have not played like the next-best to Australia for two years now, however, and will have to make at least one change because of Matthew Hoggard’s back injury.

It flared up shortly before lunch on the fourth day in Kandy, leaving England short of nous on a wearing pitch.

The lack of Matthew Hoggard cost England © Getty Images

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“The one thing we lacked in the second innings was a little bit of expertise,” admitted Vaughan.

“We also created a couple of tough chances that we didn’t take.

“You look back at that game and if we had bowled a little bit cleverer in the second innings and took those chances we could have won the game. That is how close we were to getting the victory.

“It wasn’t just the draw we were after; three and a half days in I expected us to win the game. We didn’t and the reason was we didn’t get them out quick enough in that second innings.”

England’s poor run of Test campaigns has coincided with the decline of Steve Harmison from hell-raising fast bowler to soul-searching crock.

He tore in during the final net session at the ground, displaying some of the characteristics that shot him to the number one position in the Test bowling rankings.

“He’s had a lot of injuries recently and when you fight back from injury you have to get your form back as well,” said Vaughan.

“This week in Kandy he bowled more and more and got better and better.

“He looked like he’s got some rhythm. When I have seen him like that before he has tended to bowl pretty well in the Test match.

“When he is on form, you ask any opposition player in the world who they do not want to face in the England set-up and it’s usually Steve Harmison’s name that crops up.”