Michael Atherton looks a man at one with himself in Sri Lanka. No longer burdened with the responsibility of captaincy and blessed with a period of good fitness he strolls around the boundary like a man on a winter break.

Mike Atherton : At Ease Photo CricInfo

In spite of being clean bowled three times in two games by the young Dinusha Fernando, he has cut an impressive figure at the crease too. In the first four-day in Colombo he scored 22 and 47, and on Friday, in the bustling coastal town of Matara, he added a composed five hour 85.

He is understandably delighted, in his own down to earth way, with his build-up to the all important First Test Match in Galle: "The rhythm feels good, I am striking the ball well and I am happy with the time I have had in the middle. I am feeling good before the Test."

Atherton is a true cricketing masochist too. He would prefer the challenge of facing a battery of West Indian quick's to Zimbabwe's plodding medium pacers, and in Sri Lanka, he wants to face nothing but the best.

"I want Murali to play because the challenge of Test cricket is about playing against the very best and seeing how you get on," he said honestly. "If we do well here and he is not playing then it slightly takes the gloss off it. So, I hope he is playing and that we well against him."

Atherton wants to face Muralitharan even though he knows the conditions are loaded in the off spinner's favour: "The conditions in Sri Lanka will be slightly different from those in Pakistan. The wickets will turn more and there will be a lot of spin bowled during the series and how we combat that will be the deciding factor of the series."

There is no need though for the fast bowlers to start sulking, according to Atherton: "There will, however, be a bit more swing with the new ball in Sri Lanka because of the humidity in the air."

Sri Lanka has lost some experienced players recently, but Atherton expects them to pose a similar threat to when they last played England: "When we last played Sri Lanka they were on the back of that World Cup victory and confidence was at an all-time high. Since then they have lost one or two big players, including Arjuna Ranatunga, but they still possess the match winners – Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan - that won that Oval Test Match. They are both still at the top of their games and I they pose the same threat again."

Michael Atherton is not expected to continue playing much longer. He refused to rule out another trip to Sri Lanka in 2003 saying, "lets wait and see," but with England experiencing there best run for 15 year he must be enjoying the twilight of his career.

Never the one for hyperbole, he says: "I think we are coming along nicely. We have two or three series on the bounce, have played some good cricket and are shaping up well. The team is playing to its ability at the moment and performing more consistently."

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