DURHAM, THURSDAY: Sri Lanka should be wary of South Africa when they take them in a crucial World Cup game at Chester-le-Street here on Friday as the Proteas without the pressure of playing for a semi-final place could use that freedom to produce their best brand of cricket not witnessed in the tournament so far.
The danger here is that South Africa who are out of contention have everything to play for while for Sri Lanka it’s a must-win contest.
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| South African all-rounder JP Duminy addresses the pre-match press conference at Durham on Thursday. |
Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha said, “When you have no pressure of qualifying, they can come and play without any pressure, fearless cricket and that can get them going. At the same time they can turn up and just want to go home, so you never know.”
However JP Duminy who is retiring from ODIs after the World Cup said, “The privilege to represent my country so many times you should never take that for granted. If any of us has one foot on the plane, that means you are taking it for granted. And that is definitely something that we don't encourage.”
“The important mission for us is to play good cricket. The cricket we know and the brand we know we are capable of playing and I think we can do that, particularly tomorrow. We played good cricket against Sri Lanka, in Sri Lanka a few months ago and recently in South Africa, so we know we can beat them. We can put in big performances but the important thing is to look introspectively and how we are going to do that.
“We don't have a grudge against Sri Lanka to want to kick them out of the World Cup. It is not about that. I think the important thing for us is to make sure we put in a big performance,” Duminy said.
So Sri Lanka who were steam-rolled 5-0 in South Africa early this year have this important game to make amends for those defeats with a win on Friday which would boost their chances of qualifying for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Sri Lanka’s task is not easy as they have to win all their three remaining matches to be in with a chance. They have six points from six matches and they need to double that number of points with wins over West Indies and India as well their next two opponents.
Coach Hathurusingha is of the view that although Sri Lanka were beaten on South African pitches they have a better chance here at Durham where the pitch is expected to play true and scoring runs will not be a struggle as the Lankan batsmen found out against the South African quicks.
“We think that we have a good chance because we are coming off two wins and a very good win against England, although we didn't play our best cricket to win the game in terms of batting. We had a perfect bowling display, defending that target,” said Hathurusingha.
“Cricket is a funny game. You can lose so many games and win the one that is the most important, it is this next game. I think we have enough talent and skill-set to compete with them tomorrow.”
TAHIR THREAT
However Sri Lanka’s danger man will not be the Rabadas, Ngidis, Morris’ and Phehelukwayos, but the oldest cricketer playing in the present World Cup 40-year-old leg-spinner Imran Tahir.
“Yeah, he is a world-class bowler that is the reason. It is not only because we have the weakness of playing spin. I think our guys play spin okay, but he's a world-class performer,” said Hathurusingha.
“The thing for me I'm looking at is some of the players who are playing tomorrow not being there in South Africa, like Angelo (Mathews) and and Kusal (Perera) did not play in the last few games and Dimuth (Karunaratne) as well, so they are in form. For us, fortunately, most of the top order got some runs somewhere down the line, so hopefully we click as a batting group in this game,” he said.
It was the two senior players in the side Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews who put their hands up and steered Sri Lanka to that dramatic win over England that has thrown open the World Cup for the top four places. So far only Australia are assured of a semi-final place.
“That’s the good thing about a great team. The senior players or the big players turn up for the occasion. That has boosted our confidence. Their efforts are crucial for us winning,” said Hathurusingha.
“If you take Kane Williamson and Joe Root, they rise to the occasion when they are needed. Oppositions want them dismissed early or not to give them wickets. When we plan, we plan a lot against opposition’s big match players. That goes a long way. For us, Malinga gave us wickets with the new ball and then struck again in the middle overs. Angelo batted so well against England and it helped to boost the confidence of other players too,” he said.
Sri Lanka had optional training on Thursday a day before the match which Hathurusingha sees as a way to ensure that the players remain fresh ahead of the game. However, Sri Lanka will take a call on fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep who has been suffering from ’flu. He was to see a doctor last night.
WE’LL BOUNCE BACK – DUMINY
Failing to qualify for the World Cup knockouts Duminy said was a big disappointment for him and the team.
“I think the most disappointing part has been our team performance and I think it will be amiss of me not to mention how disappointed we are particularly letting all our fans down back home. It's been pretty dismal from our part and we wish we could point out one thing that, or the reason why we haven't performed,” said Duminy.
“We've put in a lot of effort in terms of our preparation, in terms of our strategy, going out there with a good mindset, a strong mindset. But, unfortunately, we haven't been able to produce and execute our plans and that's been the most disappointing part for all of us, including myself.
“We obviously want to apologise to the public and the South African fans for letting them down. You know when you represent your country it is always a proud moment and you understand that you represent 50, 60 million people, that is a proud moment in itself.
“And when you put in performances like that, you know, you in a way almost feel ashamed of that. But we know that it's not all lost, even though yes, it's a World Cup and I believe that this team will come back stronger.”
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