England A field the five who were members of the party that went to Sharjah in November. They fly to the Caribbean on March 20 in preparation for the one-day matches.

Ben Hollioake reverts to the No 3 position he filled with distinction last summer. Big-hitting Andrew Flintoff, who has recovered from the back injury that made him unavailable for the final two Tests, will come in at No 4, to be followed by Mark Ealham and Steve James.

Jonathan Powell was not considered because of his continuing back problems, and is looking an increasingly doubtful starter for the remaining two matches, on Friday and Saturday at Matara. Every fit member of the 16-man squad will get at least one match, although the Caribbean five will play all three.

Sri Lanka will take some beating on their own pitches and in the debilitating heat and humidity. The last England A side here, in 1991, were superior in the Test series but lost the one-dayers 4-1. ``We're going to have to be at our best to compete,'' said coach Mike Gatting. ``This is what the Sri Lankan's pride themselves on.''

The England players are so relaxed about the security situation that they have abandoned their promise after the recent bombings not to stray into Colombo. The whole party came into the capital from their beach hotel to watch parts of the Trinidad Test live on satellite television in a cafe.

England A (1-day int'nal v Sri Lanka, Moratuwa, today): *N V Knight, D L Maddy, B C Hollioake, A Flintoff, M A Ealham, S P James, -D J Nash, A F Giles, D R Brown, J Ormond, D A Cosker.