Paul Collingwood hopes history will come to regard last September's memorable Edgbaston victory over Australia as a major turning point in England's fortunes.

The Durham all-rounder's memory of England's stunning six-wicket ICC Champions Trophy semi-final triumph over the world champions is still fresh.

It was a win which ended England's run of 14 consecutive one-day defeats against Australia, stretching back to January 1999.

Collingwood hit the winning boundary, a pull for four off fast bowler Brett Lee, to spark celebrations which were then muted by England's defeat in the final to the West Indies.

But as England prepare to face Australia at Edgbaston again in today's day-night international, Collingwood has underlined the importance of overcoming them again if last year's victory is not to be regarded as a rare success.

''We're focusing on what we're doing at the moment,'' stressed Collingwood, who with his performance at Trent Bridge against Bangladesh last week became the first player in history to score a century and claim six wickets in a one-day international.

''Obviously last year was the first hurdle to get over, having not beaten Australia for a while, but we're concentrating on what we're doing at this moment in time.

''We've gathered some momentum, we're playing some great cricket and as long as we keep the intensity high and we go out there believing we're going to do well.

''There's a lot of good memories about that Edgbaston game, but it's history now. It was the first step and hopefully that will take us on to better things in the future.''

Having followed up that Edgbaston triumph with victories over Australia this summer in the inaugural Twenty20 match at the Rose Bowl and in the opening NatWest Series match at Bristol, England took a step back last Thursday.

Australia completed a 57-run triumph at Chester-le-Street, a performance which was followed up by a clinical 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Saturday.

They have been the first signs of Australia recapturing their momentum after a dismal start to their Ashes tour.

The Australians have endured taunts in the newspapers similar to those normally directed at England when they are in Australia, but their revival is no surprise to Collingwood or any other member of England's squad.

''We were disappointed at the Durham performance, not with the skill factors but we were probably ten per cent off our intensity, which is a big thing in one-day cricket,'' conceded Collingwood.

''We have to make sure we put it right and we have an opportunity to do that.

''It's a massive game on Tuesday and then we have the final against them on Saturday and I'm sure we'll be looking at Tuesday as a dress rehearsal for that.

''I'm sure their success comes down to their confidence.

''They're brash and they make sure you know you're in a game and they back themselves all the way - whatever technique they've got, they believe in it.

''They are a great side, it's as simple as that. They probably are as good as ever, but we're improving. We're catching up and we've shown that over the last few days.''

He added: ''Edgbaston brings back happy memories after scoring the winning runs against Australia, but from a team's point of view it was a very important win for us - the mentality of the side and the confidence we got from that win was a major step forward for the team.

''I guess the summer really starts now.

''We've had a bit of a taste so far and the Aussies are starting to play some good cricket now so we really have to be on the ball now and make sure we're on top of our games.''

Skipper Michael Vaughan is in contention after missing the last two games with a thigh strain and he said: ''I don't feel too bad. I've had a net and I've done a bit of fielding, but we'll have to wait and see how I wake up in the morning.

''I'm hopeful, but it's very hard to judge how it's going to feel after an intensive fielding session. I want to play, I wanted to play last Thursday but I think it was the sensible option to miss the last two games.''

l The England and Wales Cricket Board yesterday confirmed that Sri Lanka will play England at Riverside next year.

The tourists will be at Chester-le-Street on June 24 for a one-day international - again confirming Riverside as a regular venue on the international cricket circuit.

England's home limited-overs matches will continued to be sponsored by NatWest next summer following a 12-month contract extension.

In a change to the scheduling next summer, the current triangular tournament format and three-match NatWest Challenge will be replaced by two separate one-day series, of five matches each, against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively