The England tour of Sri Lanka was officially opened last night with the traditional pre-tour press conference. It was an exotic affair, with Kandyan dancers, stirring video clips and rhythmical drumming. Don King, the infamous boxing promoter, however, would have been overcome if he had listened to the opening exchanges between the two sides.

Whilst King prefers his fighters to launch into verbal tirades and gloat about the opponents impending fate, Sri Lanka and England preferred to trade generous praise.

Hussain started off: "We have been given everything that we could have asked for in the lead up to the Test Match and we are looking forward to a Test series against a very fine side."

Dav Whatmore responded: "They are playing very well. That was an incredible effort to win in Pakistan. A lot of sides have gone there and not done very well. To win the last Test Match in Karachi, in the way they did, speaks volumes for the team and the confidence that they have."

To be fair, Hussain has good reason to be diplomatic. The Sri Lanka board have bent over backwards to accommodate the English. As Hussain said himself: "The three games that we have played so far have been excellent. The facilities have been good and the opposition have been of a very high standard."

No series in Sri Lanka has ever created such a high level of interest. The board are keen to paint a good picture and are desperate for England to come again. Some though feel that they have been overly generous and would rather have prescribed a diet of sub-standard pitches, woeful opposition, interminable bus journeys and shoddy hotels. Certainly it appears harsh to deprive the national captain and coach of a valuable days practice and force them to make a seven hour round trip for a Press Conference, conveniently located at England's sumptuous hotel.

Perhaps diplomacy is also sensible after a hot-tempered start to the tour. One player from each side has been reported to the Sri Lankan board and, despite the assurances last night, the prospect of further heated exchanges is very real.

For their part, both Dav Whatmore and Duncan Fletcher played down the issue. Whatmore said: "It was surprising for me to hear that there had been a couple of incidents in the first few games, but I would be very surprised if that happens again over the next six weeks." Fletcher added: "We have come here to play cricket and my players know what is required of them."

Hanumant Singh, the match referee, however, admitted that he would be talking to both sides on Wednesday. He claimed that he would be taking a firm stand against the unnecessary and provocative appealing that has marred the first three practice games.

Sanath Jayasuriya was keen for the Sri Lanka team to put their tour of South Africa behind them: "The tour of South Africa was disappointing for Sri Lankan cricket. I am taking the responsibility for that. We did not play up to our expectations and it was a bad tour. However, after that we went to New Zealand and winning the series their was a morale booster for all of us. We now have to correct the mistakes we made in South Africa after one and a half good years."

Both sides were confident that their premier spinners would be fit to play on Thursday. Whatmore said: "Murali has been bowling during the last couple of days and his workload will be increased progressively. At this stage we expect him to play." According to Nasser Hussain that is good news: "We want to play against him and hit him around the park."

Duncan Fletcher commented: "It was pleasing to see that Ashley Giles passed his fitness test after his problem with his Achilles in the first innings. Now he just needs to get a little more bowling under his belt. Hopefully he can do that in the practice nets and concentrate more on his bowling than on his Achilles."

© CricInfo Ltd.