Cricket: Knight counts on team spirit

Nick Knight yesterday underlined the value of team unity as England A attempt to begin the Sri Lankan leg of their winter tour with victory in today's opening warm-up match against the President's XI here.

"We have struck up a pretty good team spirit so far and that is going to be vital when we get into the game because they come thick and fast now," Knight said.

Preparations have been hampered by the whole party suffering in the hot, humid climate over the past four days of net practice. Until now the bowlers have been restricted to hour-long spells, while the batsmen have had 20- minute work-outs in the nets to conserve energy.

England are delaying naming their side until the morning when they have had a chance to inspect the police ground pitch although the all-rounder Dougie Brown is certain to play having not featured in a competitive match since the Sharjah final three weeks ago. David Nash has been given the wicketkeeping role ahead of Chris Read.