COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka’s three-match One-day International series against West Indies will be critical to the home team’s chances in the subsequent World Cup, which his homeland co-hosts with India and Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka and West Indies meet on January 31, February 4, and 6 in matches to be contested at two of the World Cup venues – at the Rajapaksha Stadium in Hambantota and the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Jayawardene indicated the brief series will help the national side get used to the conditions at the two venues, which have been newly constructed and renovated respectively for the World Cup.
“At the Premadasa Stadium, a couple of strips have been left for the World Cup, which we have not still played on,” he said.
“We only used it for the Tests against West Indies [last December] and it looked good. They will play the final stages of the provincial tournament on that for us to get a better idea of the pitch, plus the matches against the West Indies,” he said.
He added: “Unfortunately, we have not played any cricket in Hambantota, we have only one game against Canada, which is an important game for us.
“In the current visit of the West Indies, our first game will be at Hambantota, so probably we’ll get a better idea of how it’s going to behave.”
Jayawardene noted that the national team generally had a good idea about the conditions in the country, so hopefully they can use that to their advantage.
“The crowd too will be of great advantage and the atmosphere too will play its part,” said the former national captain.
Jayawardene believes the national side will be well prepared for the World Cup, as the provincial tournament draws to a close, and the brief series against West Indies.
“We’ve started training together as a team,” he said. “There will be a lot of planning and structural aspects to be done.
“We have focussed a lot on fitness in the last few weeks with our trainers and every member looks in good shape, and let’s hope that we go with a full strength squad into the World Cup.”
Jayawardene acknowledged it was difficult to predict a World Cup winner, but he thinks Sri Lanka have all the possibilities covered by the side they have selected.
“We have a squad of 15, and from that we have the opportunity of finding the right combination to suit the opposition,” he said.
“We are ready to launch our campaign, but the most important aspect is our performance in the first few matches.”
He said: “We know how we did as a team in the last 12 months or so. With that experience and with some players changing their styles of batting, we should consider all these aspects in preparation for this tournament.
“Everything should be done for the betterment of the team however, with the aim of emerging victorious.”
Sri Lanka won the World Cup for the first time in 1996 under Arjuna Ranatunga, when they last co-hosted with India and Pakistan.
They have also reached the Final of the last World Cup staged four years ago in the Caribbean.
