Mahela Jayawardene has dismissed suggestions that Sri Lanka have targeted another whitewash of England after a convincing win in the opening match of their one-day series.

Monday's 119-run triumph at the Dambulla National Stadium in the opener to the five-match series suggested England had failed to bridge the gap between themselves and Sri Lanka since last year's 5-0 humiliation on home soil.

Chasing Sri Lanka's 269 for seven, England were dismissed for just 150 after struggling throughout against the vast array of slower balls delivered by seamers Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Fernando and Dilhara Fernando.

It was Sri Lanka's eighth win out of the last nine home and away against England, who have now not beaten their hosts on Sri Lankan soil since 1982.

But captain Jayawardene insists they have no desire to humiliate England - just to keep winning and building towards the next World Cup based in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India in 2011.

''It was a good series we had last year but a lot of cricket has been played since then, but now it's a totally different set-up and England have got a number of new faces and we've got a few new faces coming in after the World Cup,'' said Jayawardene.

''We're developing another side for the next campaign. For us it's all about winning matches, it doesn't matter if it's England or whoever we come across.

''We want to be consistent with and push ourselves to the limit and try to improve ourselves.

''To win so many games against them in the last few years is good for our confidence because every time you beat them we know it's something special, but we should not live in the past and we need to move forward.''