‘One hell of a Test to win’ but England ‘believe’

England have the “belief” they can beat Sri Lanka, but Paul Collingwood admitted it will be “one hell of a Test match to win” from the position the hosts are in.

Sri Lanka closed day three of the final Test on 94-1, needing 125 more runs to reach their target of 219 and earn a famous win.

At 2-0 up, England have already secured the series, yet have been below their best at The Oval. On Sunday, they were bowled out for 156 in their second innings in 34 overs, their shortest Test innings for more than three years.

“This team is capable of doing some special things,” said assistant coach Collingwood. “We have to have that belief we can turn things around.

“Hopefully we can get on a roll. It’s an exciting opportunity.”

England are on a run of five successive Test wins and are looking for their first 100% home summer in 20 years.

However, they have been wasteful on numerous occasions at The Oval. From 261-3 in their first innings, the home side were bowled out for 325.

At the beginning on the third day, England were able to take the last five Sri Lanka wickets for 52 runs to earn a first-innings lead of 62.

Instead of batting the tourists out of the game, England found themselves 82-7 and needed a blistering 67 from wicketkeeper Jamie Smith to set a competitive target. Still, Sri Lanka made a rapid start to the chase and will start the fourth day as favourites.

“We’re going to need a special day if we’re going to win this match,” added former England all-rounder Collingwood. “There will be belief in the dressing room. It will be one hell of a Test match to win from this position.

“We always look at the opportunity, rather than the failures. When you have that optimism, it’s amazing what can translate on to the cricket field. We have been in some deep holes at times but have found ways of getting out of them because of the talent in the dressing room.”

England’s success this summer has come after they pledged to “refine” the Bazball style adopted when coach Brendon McCullum took charge.

But some of their batting and field placings at The Oval has attracted criticism. England’s all-time leading run-scorer Alastair Cook said his former team have been complacent, while ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan warned them not to “take the mickey out of Test cricket”.

Collingwood, who played 68 Tests for England, is a former team-mate of both Cook and Vaughan.

“I haven’t seen any of the criticism, but we all know it will be out there,” he said. “If you don’t perform, you will get criticised. That’s fine.

“We’re not always going to get it right and today was one of those days we didn’t get it right. The guys is the dressing room will hold their hands up.

“We want to make sure we can have a clean sweep and the lads are very proud about playing for England. We’ve not felt there has been an complacency coming into this match.”

That England still have a chance is mainly down to 24-year-old Smith, who thrilled his home crowd with some stunning shots. At one point, the Surrey man took 52 runs from 18 deliveries.

And Collingwood compared the wicketkeeper to Adam Gilchrist, the legendary Australian with the ability to destroy attacks from number seven. Collingwood was part of the England side that was hammered by Gilchrist’s 57-ball century in Perth in 2006, the fastest ever in an Ashes Test.

“It’s exciting when he comes in,” said Collingwood of Smith. “He’s certainly an entertainer.

“You go back to the days of when Gilchrist would come in for Australia. It sucks the life out of you as the opposition when someone has the ability to do something like that. In his short Test career, he has shown some great skills.”