Sri Lanka veteran Mahela Jayawardene insists that it is good for his team that they will have played co-hosts New Zealand and Australia early in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
He also said the team aren’t too worried about what was happening in the Australian camp, be it the dropping of Shane Watson or the captaincy conundrum.
“Australia are a very good allround side. It’s a good test for us to see where we are. It’s also a great opportunity for us to play them so early in the World Cup. Playing Australia and New Zealand is good for us as they are good teams. We shall see how it goes,” he said at the Sydney Cricket Ground, two days before the teams with a history of being keen competitors meet here.
“We aren’t too worried about what is happening in their camp. I guess they are trying to play different combinations with James Faulkner and Michael Clarke coming back from injury. That’s their strength of their bench. Never know whether it will work or not. We shall wait and see. We need to play our brand of cricket and challenge ourselves,” Jayawardene said.
“We have had success in the past in Australia. We need to play good cricket. We have good memories of winning here and at MCG,” he said. “They are a very experienced unit. I don’t look at them as being fragile. They have dominated World Cup matches against all teams, not just against us.
“We haven’t been far behind them. For us the important thing is that once we get to that crucial games we remain clinical. We have been undone by them a few times. In 2003 in South Africa it was a close game. We only had to chase 210 and we didn’t do that. Then in the Caribbean we lost the final,” Jayawardene said.
“In a big tournament, it’s about how we handle pressure. However, this is not just about how we play Australia. It’s the World Cup and we look forward for the challenge. For us to play Australia and New Zealand is good as that helps us assess where we are. Everything starts once the quarterfinals start. Let’s see how it goes,” he said.
Having started the tournament with a duck against New Zealand and a century against Afghanistan when he pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, Jayawardene has spent long spells being padded up to bat but without needing to take guard in the last two games against Bangladesh and England.
“It’s a positive that the top-order is getting into form,” he said. “I can’t complain. If I can sit back and watch the rest of the tournament, I am happy. It’s not going to happen but we are getting into a groove. It is important to know that in the last 12-18 months our top order has scored lots of runs. We are confident but we need to take the pressure and finish things off.”
Jayawardene said his team-mate Kumar Sangakkara and he just wanted to enjoy their last appearance in the World Cup. “I don’t think the team expects us to take it through. Guys like Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews have played a lot of games. The campaign has been brilliant so far. We need to execute our game plans well.
“We want to win. Simple as that. I don’t think we have come to participate. We want to challenge ourselves and the opposition and we want to enjoy doing that,” he said about Sri Lanka’s consistent performance at the big stage. “The top eight teams are not too far apart. It’s just a matter of how you play on a day and handle pressure.”
