ICC WC: Lankans look buoyant before opener vs New Zealand

Skipper Angelo Mathews admitted today in his pre-match press chat said that the Sri Lankan team found more ways of losing a match than winning in their run up to the World Cup 2015. However he now feels that his team is ready to put the failures among the cinders and start a fresh. He said “This is a new tournament, we are starting a fresh and the team is in the right frame of mind to take up the challenges ahead”. Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the 2015 World Cup opener at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Mathews also said that his team is exposed enough to the New Zealand conditions by being here for almost two months and this should hold them in good stead in tomorrow’s match. He said “They know our weaknesses; we also know where it hurts them. We are ready.”   The Lankan skipper also added that it would be great dedicate this tournament to their two stalwarts – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena who will be retiring from the limited overs cricket after the 2015 World Cup.   Unlike the pomp and pageant that is displayed when there is a tournament of this stature is on in the Indian sub-continent, Christchurch looked the same laidback island town at the other end of the World. The only thing that indicated the happening was that all available rooms in the vicinity of the town had been taken. My Inn keeper said “There are no beds available within the 40km radius of the ground.”   National team chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya indicated that his team will go in for this crunch game with seven batters and four specialist bowlers and also hinted that Dimuth Karunaratne and Jeewan Mendis who got an attractive half century in his last outing could make it to the final playing Xl over specialist batsman Dinesh Chandimal. Though Jayasuriya too was worried about the bowling woes he said “New Zealand is a tough side to beat and they are playing good cricket right now, but we have that X-factor when it comes to big tournaments and I am sure we can pull this off”.   Team Manager Michael Zoysa was confident. He said “How much more ready can you get? From mid December they have been in New Zealand. Now they know how the pitches and the Kiwi players are going treat them. Now it is up to them to go ahead and prove their mettle, as we have done in most World Cups before”.   - S.R. Pathiravithana – reporting from Christchurch