Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews says his players are high on confidence after a good showing at the Champions Trophy, where they reached the semi-finals, but knows they will need to be in top form in the Caribbean tri-series.
Mathews’ players must take on India, who won the ICC event by beating England in the final, and home side the West Indies. While the Windies did not do very well in England, Mathews knows they are a formidable ODI team.
Mathews told the Gleaner upon arrival in the Caribbean: “We have played some really good cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy, beating England and Australia to reach the semi-final and so the confidence is pretty high.
“West Indies and India are two very good teams in the shorter format of the game and I think that we really need to play some really good cricket to win against them.
“The West Indies are a strong team when it comes to the shorter format of the game and so we need to be on our guard from ball one and also we need to play some good cricket to beat the West Indies.”
Sri Lanka will be without veteran batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan after he picked up a calf injury against India in the semi-finals, which ruled him out for at least six weeks. But Mathews feels this will give other players a chance to shine.
The skipper continued: “Its unfortunate that Dilshan picked up an injury, but it is a good opportunity for our youngsters to try and prove themselves.
“I think our main challenge is to try and adapt to the conditions as soon as possible because the wicket might turn and so you never know. We are looking for a good start, so hopefully we can beat the West Indies and start on a winning note.”
