da marjack bet： Phew
Charlie Austin17-Mar-2003Phew! Sri Lanka made it, booking their place in the semi-finals with aclinical performance against Zimbabwe. Yes, Sanath Jayasuriya’s men neededIndia’s assistance; and, perhaps, some might gripe that a place in the finalfour is undeserved but, sorry, who cares? They are through and now faceAustralia in a do or die clash on Tuesday.© ReutersIn fact, Sri Lanka are more deserving than those now flying out of SouthernAfrica. Yes, Australia and India are streets ahead on current form,particularly in the bowling department, but Sri Lanka could justifiable layclaim to being the best of the rest…although the refreshingly exuberantKenyans might disagree.True, the performances against Australia and India in the Super Sixes wereatrocious, even unacceptable. But let’s cut the team some flak and provideperspective: two months ago everyone was predicting a first round exit.Moreover, this tournament is being played in the southern hemisphere notColombo, on quick and bouncy pitches not Premadasa dust pits. Sri Lankaoutplayed New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa in alien conditions.”History says the wicket [in Port Elizabeth] is turning and it’s anybody’sgame on that particular day. We will need to play really hard cricket.”
Sanath JayasuriyaEver since the India rout, Sri Lankan mobile phone users have received astream of text messages bemoaning the team’s apparent failure. “Free andEasy” had taken over the team sponsorship according to one. MahelaJayawardene’s wretched form has also been the source of mirth: “Can I speakto Mahela” asks the caller. “He’s gone out to bat machang,” replies Dav.”Ok, I’ll hang on then,” is the dry response.One Daily Mirror columnist described Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign as a”debacle”. The former captain turned TV pundit launched into tirades againstadministrators and insinuated that it wouldn’t have happened in his day.This writer suggested the performance against India to be “shameful.””The Aussies are clearly the form team and the favourites. What brings themback to the field is the surface we are going to play on. But that’s onething. Our guys have got to be ready for it mentally more than anythingelse. I just somehow feel we got more of a chance than we do in pitches atJo’burg,”
Dav WhatmoreWell, the tournament has not finished yet. Final judgment cannot be passed.The players and management feel that they have been written off and unfairlycriticised. Now they have an opportunity to prove the pundits are talkingtripe. Let’s hope the players are able to put up two fingers and make us alleat humble pie.© ReutersThe chances of lifting the trophy obviously remain slim. There is no doubtthat both India and Australia possess stronger all-round units. They bat andbowl far deeper. But the spin friendly surface at Port Elizabeth is thesource of comfort. It is the perfect place to play Ricky Ponting’s side andSri Lanka still have the ICC Champions Trophy fresh in their minds.Moreover, the pressure is now off. Already expectations have been exceeded.They have sneaked through and can now revel in the underdog tag. They havethe opportunity to play fearless cricket and that makes Sri Lanka a verydangerous proposition.They will need some luck along the way. And it will certainly help to winthe toss – this time Sri Lanka will bat first! But the most important battlewill be up front: Lee and McGrath versus Jayasuriya and Atapattu. The winnerof that contest will most probably win the game.© CricInfoFortunately, for Sri Lanka, there is also hope that middle order might alsocontribute: Avishka Gunawardene fully justified his inclusion againstZimbabwe and Kumar Sangakkara started to play with the freedom that makeshim such a dangerous player. Aravinda de Silva, of course, will be lurkingthere too, no doubt plotting a fitting finale to a glorious career.If Sri Lanka do bat first and post a reasonable score then the bowlingresponsibility will fall heavily on the shoulders of the spinners. Pulasthican bowl three overs and pick up his paycheck – expect de Silva to berolling over his arm before the tenth over. But Dilhara Fernando likesplaying the Aussies and he could also figure.Whatever happens, let’s hope for a proper contest: a real fight worthy of aWorld Cup semi-final. If Sri Lanka are to be defeated let it be with gunsblazing. The nation may be fickle but it wants to be proud of theircricketers: the ball is in the players’ court.