da bet7： Sri Lanka hope to avoid a Pakistani backlash in their firstouting at Tangiers on Wednesday after Waqar Younis’s side lost by54 runs in the opening match of the Morocco Cup
Charlie Austin13-Aug-2002Sri Lanka hope to avoid a Pakistani backlash in their firstouting at Tangiers on Wednesday after Waqar Younis’s side lost by54 runs in the opening match of the Morocco Cup.Pakistan will be desperate to comeback strongly after adisappointing performance, but Sri Lankan captain SanathJayasuriya is confident his side can make a victorious start totheir campaign.”Spirits are high, we know what we have to do and everyone islooking forward to the first game,” said Jayasuriya, adding, “wehave picked the best possible squad for this tournament and Ibelieve it’s a very good team.”During the last two Sharjah tournaments we have been winning thegroup games and then losing in the final – we want to improve onthat and perform consistently throughout this tournament.”Having seen how the pitch behaved on Monday, Jayasuriya hascalled for a special effort from his bowlers.”The wicket was quite flat and there will be a lot of hard workfor the bowlers,” he said. “They are going to have bowl verystraight like the South Africans did yesterday.”Sri Lanka are still to decide on their preferred bowlingcombination, but the absence of significant spin means that theyare likely to play three frontline fast bowlers and medium paceall-rounder Hasantha Fernando ahead of leg-spinner Upul Chandana.”The Pakistani batsmen are good players of spin and we have beendiscussing the best combination, looking at how many fast bowlerswe need – the issue is who to play at the number seven position,”said Jayasuriya.Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando are certain to play, withPulasthi Gunaratne, who impressed during the final ODI againstBangladesh, getting the nod for the final pace bowling berth.Sri Lanka will also be looking ape South Africa’s industrious anddisciplined approach in the batting department, which proved moreeffective than Pakistan’s more explosive style on a slow pitch.”There is a lot of responsibility on the batsmen,” saidJayasuriya. “If we get a chance to bat first, one of us has toget established and make a very good score like HerschelleGibbs.”Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya will open the batting, withKumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold in themiddle order and veteran Aravinda de Silva at number six.Match winner Muttiah Muralitharan will play despite only being90% fit having strained a hamstring in Sri Lanka’s first practicesession after arrival.After a disastrous tour of England, the mood within the Sri Lankacamp is increasingly upbeat with selection and injury problemsfading into the background.So far their greatest problem in Morocco has been their inabilityto communicate in French.”We have never been in this part of the world and the players areenjoying the experience, but the French language has been aproblem – it’s making it very difficult to order our food!” jokedJayasuriya.Pakistan, meanwhile, may consider changes to their bowling attackafter off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq conceded 80 runs in his allottedten overs.Saqlain could make way for fast bowling all-rounder AzharMahmood, a swap that have the additional advantage ofstrengthening the batting order.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya(Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jaywardene,Russel Arnold, Aravinda de Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, UpulChandana, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Chamila LakshithaGamage, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, PulasthiGunaratne, Charitha Buddika FernandoPakistan:Waqar Younis (Capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood,Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Sami, Rashid Latif, SaeedAnwar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Alfridi, Shoaib Malik, WasimAkram, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana