It was a surprising oversight by the selectors when they left Tom Cruise out of England's winter tour squad.

Winning in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka was surely a 'Mission Impossible' for a team thought to be vulnerable against top-class spin bowling.

But now, six months later, Nasser Hussain and his team have the chance to complete that magnificent double.

After years of under-achievement, the seeds of recovery were sown in South Africa and found full bloom with home successes against Zimbabwe and West Indies last summer.

The fragility of the past was replaced with a steely self-belief which enabled England to snatch victory in Karachi before Christmas and with it a 1-0 victory over Pakistan.

The same grit and determination has also stood them in good stead in Sri Lanka during one of the most controversial Test series for many years.

Umpiring ineptitude in both Galle and Kandy fostered feelings of mutual enmity between the sides. It was a case of 'Eyes Wide Shut'.

Michael Vaughan is a ready-made replacement, but it would be asking a lot of him to perform at his best without having played a first-class innings for a month.

Sri Lanka face difficult decisions about the balance of their side.

Do they continue the policy of playing seven batsmen, or draft in another bowler to give them a better chance of winning the series?

Despite his useful runs in Kandy, off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena has managed three wickets in two games, while fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Zoysa have been sparingly used.

They may give slow left-armer Dinuk Hettiarachchi his first match of the series, but will again look to Muttiah Muralitharan to sweep through the England batting line-up.