Half-built stadium won't distract us, says Thorpe

The tourists trained at the ground, which is the brainchild of Sri Lankan Cricket Board President Thilanga Sumathipala, for the first time accompanied by the sounds of drilling and building work as organisers race to get the stadium up to scratch in time for the game.

Only half of the expected 40,000 seats have been erected and the main stand, which provides the centrepiece of the attractive ground, is way behind schedule for the opening ceremony to be attended by the country's Prime Minister shortly before the start of play.

ICC official Cammie Smith gave the stadium a clean bill of health only three weeks ago and England will go into action on a pitch which has yet to be used for a first-class fixture and a ground only half ready.

It is the type of environment which would have affected previous England touring parties, but lifted by their Test series success last weekend, the team of 2001 are determined not to be distracted by problems off the field.

''The playing surface is fine and that's the most important thing for us as players,'' stressed stand-in captain Graham Thorpe.

''The outfield and playing surface are fine and as for the rest of the surroundings, I'm sure they'll look fine when they're done.

''I don't think it's going to be a problem for us - as long as we have a dressing room to put our kit into, we're not going to worry too much about the surroundings.''

Thorpe, in fact, is more concerned with the possible effects on his squad of playing three one-day internationals over a five-day period in the intense heat and humidity.

Even players like Michael Vaughan and Graeme Hick, both of whom have been here since the start of the tour, struggled to come to terms with the heat on Wednesday and had periods off the field during England's 51-run warm-up victory over the Board President's XI after playing long innings.

''We saw how much it can take out of you by looking at Hick and Vaughan,'' added Thorpe. ''Running between the wickets for an hour to an hour and a half took an awful lot out of them.

''We're going to have to watch our players and see how they respond and if they're out there batting a long time, we're going to have to keep a close eye on them.

''A one-day international takes a lot more out of you in this heat than a day playing Test cricket. I was pretty tired after the Colombo Test, but just look at what batting for an hour and a half did to two of our guys yesterday.''

The big worry for England is that five of their squad - Alan Mullally, Mark Alleyne, Mark Ealham, Nick Knight and Andrew Flintoff - have had only just over a week to get used to the conditions and nearly all of them struggled to cope during Wednesday's match.

''The acclimatisation of the newcomers is an issue,'' admitted Thorpe. ''The guys who've been here all tour are used to it, but for the newcomers that was their first match and I remember how we all felt after we played our first game at the beginning of the tour.

''Some of them haven't played since the one-day series in Pakistan three months ago.

''There are some tired legs in the dressing room and we'll have to dig deep if we're going to compete in these matches and I can see us being tested a great deal physically over the next five days.''

To that end, England are likely to chop and change for the three matches, particularly as there is only one recovery day between each game, increasing the possibility of every member of the 15-man squad making an appearance during the series.

l Yorkshire's new first team coach Wayne Clark organised his first net session yesterday when Yorkshire practised at Newlands, Cape Town, in preparation for today's limited overs game against the Boland Academy XI.

Clark, who has now been released by Western Australia, joined Yorkshire in South Africa on Wednesday and was introduced to the players after having dinner with captain David Byas and coach Arnie Sidebottom.