Former captain Michael Vaughan warned England to “be careful” and not to “take the mick” after a sloppy second day against Sri Lanka in the final Test of the summer at the Kia Oval.

Sri Lanka closed 114 runs behind England’s 325 with five second-innings wickets in hand on another day curtailed by bad light. England lost seven wickets for 64 runs in the morning through a series of attacking shots before unfurling a series of very aggressive fields when it was their turn to bowl.

Vaughan feared that England were being complacent, singling out the aggressive approach of vice-captain Harry Brook, who was frustrated by Sri Lanka’s defensive plans to him and picked out cover for 19.

“Just be careful, Harry Brook,” said Vaughan on Test Match Special. “He is a brilliant player. He is as good as I have seen. I am going towards Kevin Pietersen-style. He is an incredible player. But don’t take the mick out of the game. Be very careful.

“There are cricketing gods up there and in a year’s time there are tougher challenges. When you don’t treat things as you should, you might be getting the rub of the green now but against the very best teams you will need a bit of luck, a toss to go the right way, the DRS to work for you.

“I would ask England ‘were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia?’ If they look themselves in the mirror and say they were, I would say they are lying.

“England delight me a lot in the way they play. I like they do things completely differently. I like what they are doing. But I sometimes watch and say be careful because this game has a way of biting you. When you are so far ahead of the opposition, don’t take the mick. Don’t think you can do things no other player has done in the game – dance down the wicket and whack an away-swinger over mid-off.

“They will come back tomorrow and be sharper. There were one or two things I saw today – an opening bowler without a fine leg… If you have 500 on the board you can have what you want. When you only have 325 it is not the right time. Chris Woakes struggled to bowl with that field. It was a warning sign for them today.”

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The Sri Lanka coach, the great opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, said it was his team’s plan to bore Brook out – and it worked.

“We go through their batsmen, just like they go through ours,” he said. “We know they have very strong areas, and that we have to keep it tight and frustrate them. Bowl a tight line and length just outside the off stump. Keep doing that in these conditions, with the ball moving, he was frustrated. We bowled well, the right line and length.

“Sometimes you go into the top gear, and sometimes you have to slow it down a bit. You can’t be in top gear all the time when you play this type of cricket. Play your natural game but take as little risks as you can, when there’s a packed field on the offside or legside, you need to fight it hard. It’s part of the game, you need to work hard and be mentally strong.”