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| Sunday, 15 January 2006 |
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Under 19
World Cup cricket starts February 5 :
Batting Sri Lanka's forte by Ranjan Anandappa The home advantage that Sri Lanka could gain while hosting the under 19 World Cup next month is based only on how they perform upto their true potential. This was the view of Sri Lanka under 19 coach Sumithra Warnakulasuriya, the former Sri Lanka cricketer. The championship will be played from February 5-18, 2006 in Sri Lanka. "I basically believe that playing in home conditions has little or no advantage. It is the performance that counts. You may have the crowd backing and the pitches to suit you, but the ultimate results could be obtained only through performance. We should have this in mind not only at junior level but all the time", Warnakulasuriya said. The present under 19 team is a well balanced one, with batting being their forte. We are hoping to take match by match and our first aim will be trying to get into the quarter-finals. We are pitted against India, one of the strongest outfits in the tournament and along with Scotland and Namibia," added coach Warnakulasuriya. "We may have the conditions to our liking, but very often we come across players from other teams who could exploit the conditions pretty well and it will be the performance that counts most", he added. Josephian Angelo Mathew, a promising allrounder will lead Sri Lanka for the fourth time in an under 19 tournament. He previously led teams to India, Pakistan, England and Bangladesh. With Mathew, there are three more Joes in the side namely opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, off-spinner Rajive Weerasinghe and fast bowler Thisara Perera. Coach Warnakulasuriya who himself was once in Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh is a force to be reckoned with because of their careful nurturing of their junior cricketers. "We Sri Lankans who were invited to coach Bangladesh prior to their obtaining Test status. We adopted the same system we used to do here. Now with a Sri Lankan coach and some Aussie coaches, they are carrying forward the good work to develop Bangladesh cricket", he said. Meanwhile as the championship gets closer a school of thinking in cricket circles was the question of the age revolving around the registration of the date of birth. In some of the participating countries it is a known fact that registration of births take place sometime later because of the requirement of having to adhere to certain religious requirements. This factor of late birth registrations invariably could see players older than age 19 participating. The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the 'Super League' and will play off against each other in the quater-finals. The bottom two teams from each of the four groups will qualify to play in the 'Plate' championship and will also play - off against each other in the quarter-finals. The Sri Lankan squad: Angelo Mathew (Captain), Sameera Soysa, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sachitra Serasinghe, Hans Fernando, Shalika Karunanayake, Dilan Cooray, Prabudha Perera, Sachit Pathirana, Thisara Perera, Rajive Weerasinghe, Malinga Pushpakumara, Ashan Priyanjana, Chatupama Gunasinghe. Sixteen teams have been divided into four groups and Sri Lanka is in group 'C' along with India, Scotland and Namibia. In the other groups are: Group 'A': Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Uganda. In group 'B' are: West Indies, South Africa, Australia, USA. In group 'D' are: England, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Nepal. The tournament will get under way on February 5th with New Zealand
meeting Bangladesh at the P.Sara Stadium. South Africa will take on
Australia at the SSC grounds. Sri Lanka Vs Scotland at the R. Premadasa
Stadium and Zimbabwe meet Ireland at the NCC grounds. |
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