England win the toss and choose to bat

Andrew Strauss' England prize their resolve and togetherness above all and are hoping those qualities will again help them prevail when the stakes are high against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Strauss must solve a string of tactical permutations for England's World Cup quarter-final - but was also moved today to voice his team's collective displeasure at Geoff Boycott's insensitive reaction to Michael Yardy's battle with depression.

The left-arm spinner had to fly home on Thursday after accepting he could no longer give his best in his current fragile frame of mind.

Strauss became the latest of many to pledge their support for Yardy - in contrast to former England opener Boycott, who responded to the 30-year-old's departure by claiming he is not a sufficiently talented cricketer to have been selected for this tournament in the first place.

Boycott's remarks have found little favour with anyone, it seems, and Strauss made it clear England are unimpressed too.

"I think it just showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue," he said.

"To link it [Yardy's illness] in any way to how he has performed in the World Cup is a long way wide of the mark.

"We were disappointed with those comments. "It's a just a lack of being informed about the situation."

Strauss is at pains to make the distinction between depression and the stress inevitably felt by many cricketers when they have to spend so much of their lives away from home.

It is feasible that the latter may have made Yardy's difficulties harder to bear, however, and Strauss acknowledges that touring is unlikely to get any easier for anyone with the passing of years.

"There are significant pressures, and I suppose as you get older and a lot of us have kids that makes touring harder," he said.

Strauss' immediate challenge, of course, is to make sure his team are not unsettled by the circumstances of Yardy's return home.

But he must also ensure he and coach Andy Flower pick the right team for Saturday's day-night encounter at the Premadasa Stadium.

It has been unclear, ever since England narrowly beat West Indies more than a week ago to scrape into the last eight, who will open the innings with Strauss.

He confirmed that conundrum at least has been cracked but, as is routine England policy, was not about to show his hand by announcing whether Matt Prior will stay at the top of the order or Ian Bell or Ravi Bopara will be promoted.

Instead, asked whether his first-wicket partner has already been told the score, Strauss said: "Yes, he does know now - he has known for a couple of days."

England's significant selection issue, meanwhile, is the make-up of their bowling attack.

The loss of Yardy means four first-choice players are now back in England, having succumbed to injury or illness since the start of this tournament.

Strauss, however, has no doubt those remaining can rise to the challenge.

"We have shown a lot of resolve; we have shown we're able to stick together in close encounter," he said.

"You never know what this game is going to throw up at you, and you've got to be quick enough to adapt to whatever comes your way.

"We have got to play good, smart, intelligent cricket and ask questions of the opposition."

The loss of resources to injury has been a fact of life for England all winter - both during and after their historic Ashes victory in Australia.

"We have had a lot of injuries, a lot of people coming and going," added the captain.

"I think that tests out your resolve as a group and the core of the side to be able to welcome other people in and make them feel part of the side - just as important a member as the guy who has departed.

"I think that's something we're good at as a group.

"But no one wants injuries - it's not what you're looking for; it makes life a lot harder for you - but you have got to manage the situation as the cards unfold.

"So far we have managed to deal with that with reasonably well - and we'll continue with that into the rest of the World Cup.

"It gives me a lot of belief that you don't have to look at the same two or three players who deliver for you.

"We all know that if you want to win a World Cup you need performances from all 11 - maybe not all at the same time but over the course of a World Cup.

"That gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow's game."

Teams
England: AJ Strauss (captain), IR Bell, IJL Trott, R Bopara, EJG Morgan, MJ Prior (wkt), LJ Wright, TT Bresnan, JC Tredwell, GP Swann, CT Tremlett.