Lot of expectations from team - Mahela

Super 8 - first target at World Cup

by Ranjan Anandappa

CRICKET: Expectations are high and Sri Lanka Cricket is buzzling with activity as a result of a couple of years of hard work which has reached the zenith as the Sri Lanka cricket team is all geared up to embark to the Caribbean Island on the 28th of February to participate at the ninth edition of the World Cricket Cup 2007.

Sri Lanka has been participating in all World Cup matches since its inception in 1975 in England and won the tourney in 1996 under Arjuna Ranatunga in Lahore, Pakistan.

Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas are the only surviving members of that 1996 team, who will be playing probably in their last World Cup in the West Indies, like so many other players from different countries.

Some people say that the present team is on par with the 1996 champion outfit or even better.

"Lot of guys have put a lot of effort and spent lot of time for us to be in the position that we are in now, we played a lot of really good cricket during the last twelve months and all the experience we gained from all those tours would come in handy going into the World Cup", said the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene.

"It is a totally different ball game all together. We got to realise that there is a job in hand and make sure that we keep focusing that and play some really good cricket".

"I know there is a lot of expectation from our side. We are representing Sri Lanka and we want to carry those hopes with us and make sure that we play to our potential" Skipper Mahela Jayawardene added.

Referring to the recent 2-1 defeat in India, Jayawardene said that losing matches obviously make a poor card. We made mistakes and we must make sure that we don't repeat them again. That's something we will definitely look at. Losing matches is not an issue, but we must make good those mistake the next time. If we can learn something from them and bounce back, that's the sign of a good side and that's what we have been doing during the last twelve months and I am sure we can do the same.

"India obviously was a big challenge for us, but I thought we played some really good cricket, but they also played some very smart cricket and the better team won at the end. We made a couple of mistakes which cost us that series. But again, there were lots of good things that came out of that tournament.

We tried few players in different positions, we tried a few different combinations and everything worked out pretty well for us. So we are quite happy with the outcome of that tourney" Jayawardene added. Regarding the composition of the team, the Sri Lankan captain said that there are fifteen good players who can play at any given time and they are all good performers and he had great faith in them all. Vaas and Murali coming back into the side is a huge push, the duo needed the necessary break and the guys who we took with us, we had lot of faith in them.

They did perform, except for the last game, all the bowlers bowled really well in the tournament. We will expect the same from them, obviously going to India without the experience of Vaas and Murali and the way the other bowlers performed is a good investment for us for the future. They will learn from that and Vaas and Murali coming back into the side is a good thing for us as they have lot of experience.

"The system adopted in the tournament this time is pretty solid as you get to play all the teams and the top four teams go into the semi-finals.

So we want to take one game at a time, and the ideal thing for us to target is to get into the Super Eights and from there to get into the semi- finals. From the semi-finals onwards anything can happen. So we will make sure that we will take one game at a time and make sure that we are very much focused on the job in hand" was Sri Lanka skipper Jayawardene's candid comment.

Talking of his own batting form, Jayawardene said that the last couple of months have not been the best for him although he had a great season last year. The latter part of the New Zealand tour and the Indian four one dayers hasn't been the best.

But he is working hard on his game and is keen in contributing as the team and he knows his role as a batsman is pretty important to the team.

"As a team what we have done is we constantly improved allround, every day we want to improve on anything possible. So, we are not identifying a particular area, we want to ensure that we don't stay in one place, and keep floating in one place and be complacent and take things easy.

We want to work ourselves and really push hard for this tournament. Sri Lanka has been drawn in group 'B' with India, Bangladesh and Bermuda. The tournament starts on March 13 with the host West Indies meeting Pakistan at Sabina Park. Sri Lanka will begin their campaign on March 15 meeting Bermuda. The Lankans will meet Bangladesh on March 21 and India on March 23. All three matches will be played at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.

The Sri Lanka team: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (v. captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Tilekeratne Dilshan, Russell Arnold, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara. Coach: Tom Moody. Manager Michael Tissera.

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