ENGLAND are as frustrated as any of their supporters watching them by the run of poor form which has extended into the start of their World Cup winter.

Saturday's eight-wicket trouncing by Sri Lanka in Colombo has put them 2-0 down and therefore on course for what would be captain Alastair Cook's sixth successive one-day international series defeat.

They have also lost seven of their last eight ODIs, an uncomfortable statistic at any time - let alone when they are hoping to fine-tune preparations and bolster confidence before the World Cup early next year.

Cook, of course, has come in for most criticism.

But off-spinner James Tredwell has made it clear he and his team-mates know it is down to them to improve all-round performances and ease the burden on their captain.

"It is frustrating for everyone really," said Tredwell, acknowledging England at present do not seem to be able to bat and bowl well in the same match.

At least one of the disciplines keeps letting them down, new-ball bowling in the first match at the Premadasa Stadium and batting in the second.

Tredwell concedes England have been off the pace here, and for much of last summer, but still contends they are capable of far better.

"Maybe some of our skills may not be up to scratch, and that is what we're trying to put right," he said.

"We're all working as hard as we can - and when things don't go right, it is not a nice feeling for the individual doing it as well as those watching.

"We're trying as hard as we can to get things right, and if we get everything right in the same game we're going to hurt people."

Does he feel then that the team as a whole owes the captain an improvement?

"Yes, absolutely," he acknowledged.

"But again, we are a collective and we want to put a team performance together for all of us."

Cook has spent the past 12 months under the microscope, arguably like no England captain before him, as one crisis has followed another since last winter's Ashes whitewash.

His own batting form is a major issue - as is, with many, his sub-80 ODI strike rate.

Yet Cook continues to handle the pressure, in front of his team-mates.

Asked how the captain is responding, Tredwell said: "Pretty well, I think.

"Everyone keeps going on about him, but we don't really notice it in the dressing room.

"He's pretty level-headed and calm about it.

"He is a class player, and I'm sure there is a score around the corner."

England have nonetheless got themselves into a situation allowing precious little room for manoeuvre, or another defeat at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium to go 3-0 down with four to play.

"Our confidence was hit slightly," Tredwell said of their latest setback, in which they were bowled out for just 185 before Sri Lanka raced to victory with more than 10 overs to spare.

"But we've chatted a lot about the way we want to play, and I think it would be wrong for us to be hit and dented by that one game.

"It was more an assessment of the surface and how we played on that surface rather than the way we got out.

"If we'd assessed it better and taken better options early on when it was tough, it might have been a different story.

"We don't want to change our method a great deal; we want to assess it a bit better."

Tredwell's 10 overs of spin are a big part of England's game plan, and could be even more so if Chris Woakes does not recover from a stomach upset to play on Wednesday.

After the road trip south on Monday, the seamer sat out evening practice but is hoping to be fit again in time for the day-night match.

Whoever else is required to bowl, Tredwell may have a little more leeway against Sri Lanka's big hitters thanks to the large playing area at this venue.

"How big it will be when the ropes are put up, we'll see - as big as possible, I hope," he said.

After England's weekend defeat, Cook sensed that the move out of Colombo - and the scene of their two defeats in four days - may help.

Tredwell is clutching to the same belief.

"I guess the hope is that we can start again," he said.

"The games come thick and fast on these tours, so it is sometimes hard to do that. But a change of scenery might bring a change of luck."