Angelo bent on giving a better onfield show
Thirimanne pondering
The Lankan cricketers would get an opportunity to showcase their talents to the newly appointed ICC President Zaheer Abbas this evening, when the iconic past Pakistani cricket captain would be at the R. Premadasa International cricket Stadium at the Inviation of SLC Interim Committee Chairman Sidath Wettimuny to witness the third One-day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The presence of the ICC President surely would put the Lankan lads on alert and they would look for some glue on their palms so that they will not come out with a repeat fielding performance akin to second ODI which they won at Pallekelle.In his pre-match chat with the press the Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews said “We did some strenuous fielding sessions yesterday and today (Saturday). Yesterday, we did as a squad but today we did individual sessions.
It’s very important. It’s not quantity. It’s about quality. You can keep catching for hours and hours but if you’re not doing the right thing, you’re not going to improve. So we did some quality fielding sessions yesterday and today. Hopefully the boys will show lot of improvement tomorrow.”
According to the Lankan skipper it is very unlikely that there would be any changes in the side. He said “I had a think about it. I always say I don’t want to meddle with the batting too much. Regardless of a win or a loss, what we want is to get a settled combination in few months time. We’re on the right path. As I always say, we don’t have the Sanga-Mahela experience to deal with pressure. But the boys are handling it pretty well. We saw it in the last game very well.
There will be guys whom will not score all the time but we will have faith in them and we will give them confidence. Because we know, we’ve identified them and that’s why we play with them. So we’ll try and stick to them, give them confidence and take them through.
Thisara Perera at work
We do changes, only when necessary. No matter we win or lose. My ambition is to give them a chance to settle down as a unit. They learn only when they play. So let’s give them some chance.Most probably there won’t be changes in tomorrow’s game, especially in the batting line up. However, we might take a call after having a look at the wicket. But still, I guess, we can win the game with the same kind of bowlers we had in Pallekele.”Commenting on the ban of the Pakistan off spinner Mohammed Hafeez who troubled the Lankan batsmen a lot during the two games Mathews said that it was going to be a great loss for the opposition. He said that he is one of the top batsmen who also bowls his ten overs for his team and they would find it hard to fill that void. Nevertheless he was of the view that the Lankans could not afford to be complacent. “We can play against anyone who come to bowl tomorrow. We can negotiate with them and get the runs on the board.”
Touching on the subject of having players who are out of form in the playing squad, the Lankan skipper had this to say “I still go with that concept. If you really have to go, you’ll have to make that change. But you’ll have to give them a fair chance, because we know the capabilities of those players. We all have gone through rough patches. They will also go through rough patches. But the main thing is not to target them. You just give them confidence and talk to them.
I was extremely pleased to see the way that Chandimal batted in the last two games. He’s matured quite a lot. We’ve been going along with Chandimal and Thirimanne during the last few years and now it’s paying off. I’m pretty sure that Thirimanne will also do the same. We just have to give them confidence and be patient with them.” And also added his views about Thisara Perera in this manner “In the last game, when he was about to bat, I just told him that he could finish the game with singles. You just have to talk to him all the time and he’s played more than 100 ODI’s but I like to see a bit more consistency in him.
Skipper Angelo and fast bowling coach Ramanayake watching the proceedings. Pix by Amila Gamage
We know that he’ll win games to you. If he can do that often, it’ll be great. In his bowling, he’s got potential and he’s got the pace. If he gets that right, he’ll pick wickets. It’s a pretty young team and you’ll pursue with them and show faith with them and they’ll deliver.”
The Lankan skipper cherishes the idea of having experienced players in the dressing room and the playing field. He said “It’s important to have couple of senior guys because the younger players will always learn from them. When I initially got into the team, there were players in the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardane and Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. We’ve learnt a lot from them. Just looking at them, the way they handle pressure, the way they handle situations, you learn a lot. It’s nicer to have the experience in the dressing room. You can go and talk to them when you’re under pressure.”