Sri Lanka's captain, Mahela Jayawardene, celebrates the run out of his Bangladeshi counterpart Habibul Bashar during their World Cup match in Port of Spain on Wednesday. - Reuters ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP):
MAHELA JAYAWARDENE says Sri Lanka's World Cup ambitions were fuelled by last year's 5-0 one-day series triumph over England.
Sri Lanka's squad was going through a transitional phase with several youngsters makingthe one-day squad when it began the England tour.
They were struggling when they went into the third and final Test match - trailing 1-0 after losing the second Test. But the turnaround for the sub-continental side began there, as it captured a momentous victory to draw the series and then swept England in the five one-dayers.
It was Sri Lanka's biggest one-day triumph since their 1996 World Cup victory.
"That was a wonderful tour, the series that kicked us off and helped our young players realise their potential," Jayawardene said yesterday as Sri Lanka prepared for their Super Eights encounter against England.
"We've pushed forward from that start. Youngsters like Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva and Lasith Malinga have done very well."
Jayawardene said that the one-day international careers of these youngsters effectively began with the England series. It was from there that these players, who have now made a huge impact, sealed their spots in the limited-overs squad.
Sri Lanka go into the match against England with four points after outplaying hosts West Indies by 113 runs on Sunday.
They carried two from topping their preliminary round group with three successive wins. Then their victory over the West Indies followed a one-wicket loss in the first Super Eights outing to South Africa that saw Malinga create one-day cricket history by taking four wickets in four balls.
Sri Lanka are tipped to advance to the semi-finals, but Jayawardene said he was not looking beyond the upcoming contest against England.
"Going into the World Cup match, we start from scratch. We're not thinking about that 5-0 win," the Sri Lankan captain said. "I can't help it if that series is still playing on England's mind."
"The way I look at it, we've playing a different event, in different conditions and against different personnel as well. We can't sit back in the background of that series and think everything is going to happen for us."
Jayawardene said Sri Lanka began planning for the World Cup a year ago.
"We've been planning for 12 months," he said. "At the back of the mind, we were always looking to get the right combination for this World Cup.
"We now have the right personnel, we're satisfied with the way we've played and the mood in the camp is upbeat."
England, Sri Lanka in crucial clash today
England's captain Michael Vaughan (right) and Andrew Flintoff bat in the nets during a training session in St. John's yesterday. - Reuters
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP):
ENGLAND ARE treating today's Super Eights match against Sri Lanka as the real start of their World Cup campaign.
Three-time runners-up England have failed to impress in games against New Zealand, Canada, Kenya and Ireland they have won the past three.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have looked like at least reaching the semi-finals and on Sunday destroyed tournament hosts West Indies by 113 runs.
"Tomorrow is a real big game in the context of where we're going to go in this tournament," England captain Michael Vaughan said yesterday.
"The three games we just played, we knew we should win. It was nice to get the two points against Ireland, but we also know our performance levels have to improve to give Sri Lanka a real good game," he said.
Victory for Sri Lanka would move them four points ahead of England in the Super Eights standings, while Vaughan's team would move level with their opponents if they can win.
Failed to fire
Vaughan repeated coach Duncan Fletcher's comments that England's top order needs to start turning its steady starts into big totals. The players have failed to fire so far, leading to unimpressive victories over the small nations and a six-wicket loss to the Kiwis.
England have failed to reach 300, while Sri Lanka passed the mark against West Indies, Bangladesh and tiny Bermuda.
"We've not had a hundred so far in this tournament and someone needs to get us one tomorrow to get us a good total," Vaughan said after a light training session at Antigua's Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, where today's match will be played.
"It's the start of our World Cup."
Neither team has appeared at the venue so far in the Super Eights. But a wicket that tends to offer early swing for the bowlers before turning into a good batting track should be similar to those the sides have played on.
Sri Lanka have enjoyed the conditions more, with opener Sanath Jayasuriya in explosive form after clubbing 115 from 101 balls against West Indies.
Only Australia's Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith of South Africa have hit more runs than the 278 racked up by Jayasuriya for the 1996 champions.
"He hits the ball all around the ground if you allow him to," Vaughan said. "So it will be a very instinctive way of setting fields tomorrow to try and catch him off guard."
Opener Ed Joyce made one run against Ireland and may make way for Andrew Strauss, who captained the team last year in the absence of Vaughan. Paceman Liam Plunkett is also under consideration but all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has recovered from a left ankle injury and should play.
Tricky decision
"It's going to be a tricky decision to decide what we're going to go with," Vaughan said. "Straussy has looked good in the nets and is sticking his hand up to play."
Only Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Joyce have totalled more than a hundred runs in England's four tournament matches. The line-up could do with bolstering ahead of a meeting with explosive paceman Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Murali-tharan, the world's leading spinner.
The pair have taken 24 wickets between them so far, only two fewer than England's entire attack combined.
Fletcher has sought to demystify the slinging action of Malinga, who last week created one-day history by taking four wickets off four balls in SriLanka's narrow, one-wicket loss to South Africa.
"Malinga is unusual," the England coach said. "You can talk about his action, but getting out there and facing him is completely different to talking about it."
Line-ups: England: Michael Vaughan (captain), Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Jamie Dalrymple, Paul Nixon, Ravi Bopara, Liam Plunkett, Jimmy Anderson, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Monty Panesar.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawar-dene (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangak-kara, Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Cha-minda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Malinga Bandara.
