Sri Lanka turns to style of 1996 to spur World Cup attempt

Plays Australia tomorrow in Grenada :

by Stuart Condie

CRICKET: ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada April 12 - Sri Lanka's World Cup tactics are simple: stick to what you're good at.

Fortunately for fans, what Sri Lanka is good at is a thrilling brand of cricket involving big hitting.

It was a style of play that won the country the 1996 World Cup as a huge outsider and transformed views of what was possible in the one-day game.

The team has disappointed at one-day cricket's elite tournament since, but, bristling with the talent of Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Sanath Jayasuriya, it is no longer ranked among the small powers of the world game and is seen as a likely semifinalist.

Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara said that is down to the fact that the team has stopped trying to emulate the style of play of other sides and had the confidence to express itself.

"The times we've gone wrong, we've tried to change our game and we've realized that's a bit foolish," wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara said Wednesday. "We won the World Cup with a unique brand of cricket and we're doing that now."

That brand of cricket involves fast scoring from the start and the pursuit of high totals to give the bowlers something competitive to restrict the opposition to.

Prior to Sri Lanka's shock triumph in 1996, teams would usually play tentatively at the start of their innings, approaching the game in a manner more akin to five-day test matches. Only toward the end of the 50 overs, would they hit out.

Totals of about 250 were thought big. Sri Lanka changed all that with openers Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana smashing bowlers out of the grounds.

The pair took advantage of a rule allowing only two fielders beyond the 30-yard (27-meter) circle for the first 15 overs, hitting the ball over the top. Powerplays now mean fielding teams are bound by the restriction for even longer. Teams now copy Sri Lanka's approach, with even Australia opening with the big-hitting pair of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist.

Anything under 300, or a run a ball, is seen as a disappointment and vulnerable to a challenge.

"You saw in 1996 where Sanath and Kalu went about treating the bowlers in the first 15 overs," Sangakkara said. "We've got five extra overs of that now. "Even the bowlers have strategies to contain the batsmen in the powerplays."

The 37-year-old Jayasuriya, whose batting, bowling and fielding brought him the man of the tournament title in 1996, has rescinded his international retirement and has hit two centuries in the Caribbean.

And Sri Lanka has expanded its game to include impressive bowling. Pace bowlers Malinga and Dilhara Fernando have joined 1996 veteran Muralitharan and Sri Lanka rivals New Zealand as the team to concede fewest runs. "We go out, not just aggressively, but with a positive attitude," Sangakkara said. "We've managed to balance our aggression with a professional approach. "We play a very attacking, sometimes flamboyant, disciplined game."

AP