Sri Lanka looking forward to any opposition WI will offer, captain says
By Sonia Herbert
Stabroek News
March 31, 2007
Sri Lanka's captain, Mahela Jayawardene says his team might not have deserved to win the battle against South Africa but they were looking forward to any opposition that the West Indies would present.
"I don't know about the West Indies but we are hungry for a win, it's one opposition we are looking forward to," Jayawardene said in an interview with Stabroek Sport.
He added that the team was going to play very aggressive and competitive cricket tomorrow and would give it 100 percent."We plan to turn out on Sunday with a positive frame of mind and with a game plan; also we have to make sure we are not complacent," Jayawardene said.
He said that everyone on the team was in shape for the game tomorrow, adding that the match against South Africa was a disappointment but they were looking forward to winning every other game.
When asked if there was any pressure playing against West Indies, Jayawardene speaking on behalf of his team said they were not under any kind of pressure and they were going to approach the game as though it was just another one-day game.
Reflecting on their last performance, Jayawardene said the team batted well against South Africa but the disappointment lay in where they fought back. "After not being in the game for so long there was a very strong performance from the guys, we showed a lot of character in that situation," Jayawardene said.
According to the Sri Lankan captain, his team was working really hard to make sure they do not make the same mistakes again tomorrow. He noted that the wicket in Guyana was very different from that in Port-of-Spain, but they had adjusted themselves to it. Jayawardene indicated that the team was working to get points to make it to the semi-finals which meant that they were going to focus on playing one game at a time. He added that he was unsure as to whether he would be changing his line-up and if so the final decision would possibly be made today.