England are determined to restore their World Cup
credibility in a crunch Pool A match Sunday against an improving Sri
Lanka. Eoin Morgan’s men return to Wellington’s Westpac stadium for
the fixture, scene of a humiliating eight-wicket loss to New Zealand on
February 20.
That defeat, a day-nighter in which England folded so quickly that
ground staff did not need to turn on the floodlights, followed a 111-run
drubbing by Australia in their opening match.
A subsequent win over minnows Scotland was greeted with relief rather than jubilation, and opening batsman Moeen Ali said England needed to make a statement against Sri Lanka.
Ali said victory against the 1996 champions would restore the battered self-belief of the team, which has been flayed in the British media.
“(It’s) a very important game, if we can win that it will give the team a lot more confidence of being a very good one-day side and a major side in the competition.” he said.
Sri Lanka made a shaky start to their own campaign, suffering a 98-run loss to New Zealand and a real scare against Afghanistan.
But they clicked in a 92-run win over Bangladesh last Thursday which included centuries for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka defeated England 5-2 on home soil late last year in a series that prompted Morgan’s predecessor Alastair Cook to be axed as one-day captain.
But paceman Steve Finn said England would not be dwelling on that series as conditions in Wellington would be completely different.
“We got beat by Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka so it’s important we go out there and try to stamp our authority in conditions that should favour us,” he said.
Finn said England’s poor start meant they were treating all their remaining pool fixtures — against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan — as must wins.
“It’s very important for us and these three games are almost each like a quarter-final, but we thrive on that sort of pressure and hopefully it will bring the best out of us.”
After three matches, England are placed beneath Bangladesh and Afghanistan on the Pool A table.
A loss to Sri Lanka would leave them facing an early exit if the group throws up any upset results.
Sunday’s match will be Sri Lanka’s third in eight days, having played Afghanistan last Sunday and Bangladesh on Thursday.
Former Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan said the schedule was “not ideal” preparation for a dangerous encounter against an England side keen to prove a point.
But he said Sri Lanka’s batting looked “ominous” against Bangladesh and sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga finally appeared to be finding form.
“He looked much more like his old self, his bowling had some of that old zip about it and that is a great sign for a team that really needs him to fire,” he said. (Source AFP)
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