By Rob Barnett
Eoin Morganbeing in charge of England tomorrow will not be that different to Alastair Cook’s captaincy, according to Jos Buttler.
Morgan will be skipper for the fourth one-day international with Sri Lanka after Cook was banned for the tourists’ slow over-rate in the third game.
Morgan yesterday said he will do things “my way”, but wicketkeeper-batsman Buttler thinks the temporary change will have little impact.
England, who along with their opponents today played cricket with Colombo children in a UNICEF event, will return to the R Premadasa Stadium seeking to level the seven-match series under Morgan.
Buttler said: "Alastair's still around - it's not as if he's vanished - and Eoin's done the captaincy before. I don't think anyone's really noticed, or (that) it will be too different."
England go in tomorrow’s day contest on the back of a thrilling win in Hambantota, where Buttler’s 55 not out from 37 balls completed victory with eight deliveries to spare.
"We knew we needed to win in Hambantota - coming here 3-0 down would be very tough," said Buttler.
"We really feel we can kick on now. We've got that winning feeling back, which is great. We haven't had that often enough recently, so that needs to become a habit."
The Lancashire player added: "If we can make it 2-2 going to Kandy, it sets up the rest of the series brilliantly.
"The best preparation for a World Cup would be to win this series, win games of cricket and get that feeling of knowing how to win games."
Buttler’s fifty on Wednesday was his fifth in 40 ODIs, to go with the 61-ball ton he hit versus Sri Lanka at Lord’s in May.
The 24-year-old is renowned for scoring all round the wicket, something in evidence three days ago as he shared an unbroken stand of 84 with Joe Root.
Buttler’s first significant score of the World Cup winter bodes well for England.
"I always want to keep looking to develop and get better," he said.
"In this four-month period, I can really focus on skills. In parts of the world like this, you get lots of net bowlers and lots of facilities - so what a great place to try things."
Among Buttler’s armoury is ‘the scoop shot’, pioneered by Tillakaratne Dilshan, a member of the opposition in this series, where the batsman sets himself as if to sweep but flicks the ball directly behind the wicket.
Buttler added: "If it is the scoop shot, I want to be hitting that 10 times out of 10 - or reverse-sweep, consistently.
"If someone misses their yorker I want to hit it for six. The best players in the world do that - people like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni.
"The margin for error against him is so minimal, because if you miss he punishes you. That's the level everyone aspires to get to - so that if someone misses their skill, you capitalise on that."
Sri Lanka know Buttler’s threat all to well.
Skipper Angelo Mathews said: "He is a very dangerous player. He's very difficult to bowl to, at the end especially, with his paddle-sweeps, reverse-sweeps - all that.
"He's got everything. We need to get rid of him as soon as possible when he comes in to bat, because he can change the game very quickly."
The hosts have added uncapped mystery spinner Lakshan Sandakan to a shuffled squad for the fourth and fifth games.
Mathews said: "He's one of our options for the World Cup. No one has seen him yet, and he looks a very good prospect for Sri Lanka. He's got so many variations of his own.
"He lands it in the right spot - his accuracy is quite good for his age. We're not afraid to give him the opportunity."
Superstar seamer Lasith Malinga, who is not part of the current squad, is also a World Cup prospect.
Malinga stepped up his recovery from ankle surgery today by working with Sri Lanka at the Premadasa.
"He's been training quite hard in the gym, and also doing a bit of running," Mathews added. "He started bowling recently, so that's good for all of us.
"He's the best 'death' bowler in the world. It'll be nice to have him as soon as possible."
AIR JORDAN! Three catches from Chris Jordan taken during this afternoon's training. The first is a stunner! #SLvENGhttp://t.co/flzqMRDBa5
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) December 6, 2014