Hussain reminds team that hard work awaits

Nasser Hussain has announced that he is satisfied with the start England have made of their tour of Sri Lanka, but warned that there is no room for complacency prior to the beginning of the Test series.

"We still have a lot of work to do, the fielding was a bit scrappy at times, the spin bowlers need to get more overs under their belts and a few people need to spend more time in the middle," warned Hussain.

The England captain was speaking shortly after England wrapped up a 165-run victory over a Board President's XI in Colombo. Never content to rest on his laurels though, Hussain has reminded the team and supporters that the real work starts on the 22nd February, when the first Test begins in Galle.

"I'm happy with the way we are now, but that doesn't mean I'm happy that we are where we need to be in 10 days' time when we face the Sri Lankan Test side," said Hussain.

"We saw how Dilshan and Tillekeratne played and they can't get into the Sri Lanka team at the moment. They have a very strong batting side and they will have six or seven Dilshan's coming at them in 10 days time. We're going in the right direction but there's no need to peak now," he continued.

"We beat a decent side over the last four days, but in 10 days time we're going to be facing a much better team and everyone has got a little bit of work to do."

Hussain was keen to single-out the efforts of Darren Gough for praise, however, who has started the tour in fine form with six wickets in the latest game, after quickly adapting to the humid conditions.

"Goughie in particular felt a lot better than in the two-day game earlier in the week," added Hussain. "After 10 overs in that game he was looking away every time I was asking him to warm-up.

"But here you couldn't take the ball out of his hands and that's a good sign. It means the legs are getting used to the heat again."