Whilst the lack of consistency was a disappointment, and would have cost usdear if it were the World Cup, Sri Lanka’s performance in the final of theSharjah ARY Gold Cup was very satisfying indeed and once again underlinedthe fact that when we

Dav Whatmore25-Apr-2001Dav Whatmore
National CoachWhilst the lack of consistency was a disappointment, and would have cost usdear if it were the World Cup, Sri Lanka’s performance in the final of theSharjah ARY Gold Cup was very satisfying indeed and once again underlinedthe fact that when we play to our potential, Sri Lanka is a world classone-day side, which is very difficult to beat.It is especially heartening that we are presently winning the big games inone-day cricket. There were a few nerves on the morning of the final. Thestadium was packed full of supporters, most them cheering Pakistan with apassion, and we had lost three out of our first four games. It was a bigmatch and we went into it in poor form.Credit then to the players, who responded well to the pressure. It helped towin the toss of course. Chasing had proved difficult throughout thetournament and we had no hesitation batting first.Evening dew was not the problem that it was last October and our spinnerscould operate effectively under the lights. Moreover, we felt the ball spunmore during the evening and the fast bowlers enjoyed some extra nip in thefirst ten overs.So, why did we opt to field first against New Zealand? We were criticisedfor that decision, but the rational was simple. We wanted extra practice atchasing, an aspect of the game that had let us down on two occasions againstPakistan.Although we were glad to bat first in the final, the top order still had tocontend with the impressive Waqar Younis and Abdul Razzaq, who bowledtightly in the opening overs, restricting us to 33 runs in the first tenovers.Despite the early loss of Romesh Kaluwithrana and the relatively low scoringrate, however, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu held their nerve,unlike Pakistan, who started to spill chances. We gradually raised thetempo, scoring 46 runs in the second ten overs, 53 in the third, 65 in thefourth, and 100 in the final ten. It was as good a batting performance asyou are likely to witness.Pakistan though were always in with a chance, even if they haven’ttraditionally enjoyed chasing. Ten overs of a rampaging Alfridi and it couldbe all over with the experienced Saeed Anwar and Inzaman ul-Haq waiting inthe wings.In the previous two Pakistan games we had failed to take wickets and theyhad scored freely throughout their innings. Somehow we had to reduce theirscoring rate. Deep-set fields had failed to achieve this. The likes of Anwarand Inzaman were too adept at massaging the ball into the gaps, so we had toforce them to play differently by bringing more fielders into the ring,requiring them to take more risks.As it turned out they may have started quickly once again, but they lostpriceless wickets, as Arnold, Muralitharan, and Fernando all took brilliantcatches. Saeed Anwar, who had batted brilliantly throughout the tournament,was not given the support he needed. It was a composed, professional, allround performance.This year we have won three out of the four international tournaments thatwe have participated, but we cannot rest on our laurels. There is still muchwork to be done if we are going to prosper in the next World Cup.The greatest worry at the moment is that the performance of the middleorder, which is not contributing with the necessary consistency. We have toaddress this. Personally I feel, as I have maintained throughout the past18-months, that there is no shortage of skill. The problem is mental and wehave to toughen up in this area. If we can cultivate the right frame of mindthen the consistency will follow.For the moment though it is time to rest and recuperate after five longmonths on the road. The players are tired and deserve a break. Not for toolong mind. In two weeks time the players will be getting back together tobegin preparations for the Indian tour.