Every match is tough, says Sri Lanka coach

Sri Lanka will be keen to cash in on England’s inconsistent form and boost their hopes of qualifying for the Champions Trophy semi-finals today.

Kumar Sangakkara’s Sri Lankans, having already beaten South Africa by 55 runs in their opening match of the four-team group, are closing in on qualification. In contrast, England go into the tournament after suffering a 6-1 defeat at the hands of defending champions Australiain their last home one-day series. But Sri Lankacoach Trevor Bayliss said Thursday his team needed to put in another impressive all-round performance as there would be no easy matches.

“We are very happy with the win the other day, but also realise that the three games in this group are all difficult,” said Bayliss.

“That series (England v Australia) has gone. I am sure they (England) will try to set the record straight here. They will be coming out as hard as they possibly can.

“We certainly won’t be taking any team lightly. We perform best when we concentrate on what we do best.”

Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis played big roles in their win over the hosts. While Dilshan hammered a century, Mendis grabbed three wickets with clever variations. Mendis will be playing against England for the first time. “Whoever plays him (Mendis) for the first time struggles a little bit and that could be an advantage. It does not matter how much you watch him on video. It’s one thing to pick the ball and another to hit it,” said Bayliss. “We are confident if he plays tomorrow he can bowl well. He has been with us for under two years and he has come a long way in a short time.

“Dilshan has been a big improver over the last couple of years. His promotion to the top where the ball comes on to the bat has helped him a lot. He is very positive and loves a challenge.” England coach Andy Flower expected his batsmen to deliver against Sri Lanka, who field quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis. “It’s no secret we under-performed badly with the bat (against Australia). The batsmen got starts, but didn’t make big scores. Tomorrow is an opportunity to put that right,” said Flower.

“We all had our frustrations in that one-day series. We didn’t end the summer well. These guys now have an opportunity to play good cricket. I am looking forward to seeing how they perform under pressure.

“There is no team plan on how to play their spinners, but very much individual plans on how to play them. That is a good challenge.” Flower said they were happier playing Sri Lanka here than at Centurion as the pitch had pace and bounce.

“It turned a little here yesterday (in Pakistan-West Indies match), but the bounce and pace would suit us better. We don’t know about tomorrow’s pitch, but it will help the quicks for sure,” said the England coach.

“But we struggled to take wickets against Australia as well. It’s a great opportunity to change that.” New Zealand and South Africaare other teams in the group, with the top two making it to the semi-finals.

AFP