KP is ready to step up if Colly wobbles

The England one-day captain had to undergo a precautionary scan on the right shoulder he injured fielding his own bowling in the opening match of this five-match series, in Dambulla.

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Collingwood will not receive the results until Tuesday but is expecting to play in Wednesday's fourth match, which could see England win their first major one-day series in Asia for 20 years.

England have no official vice-captain but if the damage to a joint Collingwood once seriously dislocated turns out to be worse than first thought, Kevin Pietersen will almost certainly take the helm at the R Premadasa Stadium with England 2-1 up after Sunday's notable but mind-numbingly dull two-wicket victory.

Even the man who guided England home, Stuart Broad, described the win on what was surely one of the slowest pitches in one-day international history as 'an ugly victory'. England need not worry about that.

The pleasure gained in beating India on home soil last month will be emphatically surpassed if England can inflict a defeat on a team who rarely lose in their own country.

Sri Lanka must now ponder whether to rush Muttiah Muralitharan back from a bicep injury for two matches that could well be affected by Colombo's monsoon season.

Broad, the young man with an old head on his shoulders who has now led England to three one-day victories this year in his secondary role as a batsman, said: 'It's the sign of a good team if you can get over the line in matches like Sunday's.

'There has been talk in our team meetings about how long it's been since an England side won over here but we will have to adapt to conditions in Colombo quicker than we did in Dambulla if we are to do it.'

This trip has represented valuable therapy for Broad after he suffered the indignity of being smashed for six sixes in an over by India's Yuvraj Singh in the World Twenty20 in Durban.

In truth, it was never likely to adversely affect a player with such an equable temperament but Broad appreciates it is something that will always be with him.

'It wasn't a pleasant experience but I didn't lose any sleep over it,' he said. 'I'm sure it will happen to someone else in Twenty20. It's a batsman's game. I haven't seen a single replay of that over and I don't ever intend to.'