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Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from South Africa & Kenya

PIETERMARITZBURG, Thursday, Having cleared the first hurdle of the 2003 World Cup by beating New Zealand by 47 runs, Sri Lanka are not giving an inch for the opposition to surprise them in their next Group B match against Bangladesh which starts at the Pietermaritzburg Oval here tomorrow.

The team only knows the great difficulty with which they went through the tours to South Africa and Australia, and as they are beginning to show signs of coming out of that rut, they want to continue the winning vein which they hope has begun with the victory over New Zealand on Monday.

"We have to play serious cricket like the other day against New Zealand. We are not taking any side lightly. We are going 100 per cent flat out to do well," said Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya at practice today.

"All the games are important in this tournament. Whatever the opposition, we have to take all of them seriously. Any team can bounce back at any time and we must be wary of it. The Canadians did well that day to beat Bangladesh," said Jayasuriya.

"You can't underestimate Bangladesh or any team for that matter. In the last World Cup they surprised Pakistan," he said.

"Tomorrow's game as well as those against Canada and Kenya are important because we need those points for the next round," he said.

Jayasuriya said the win against New Zealand had changed the entire outlook of the team.

"It has improved the confidence of our boys and they are looking forward to every game.

The confidence is good and what we want is for our boys to continue playing good cricket like they did against New Zealand," said Jayasuriya.

He admitted that this sort of attitude was missing in Australia and that they had started to gain the confidence back only during the latter stages of the tour.

He said he was quite confident the other batsmen in the side would start to score runs.

"They know they have to get runs and they are experienced enough to play according to the situations. I am confident they will do it when they get the opportunity," said Jayasuriya.

In the New Zealand game, Jayasuriya and Hashan Tillakaratne made the major contributions with 120 and 81 not out respectively.

Sri Lanka are one of the few teams without any controversy and Jayasuriya said that it would be the best thing to happen if his team can keep a low profile for the rest of the tournament. Coach Dav Whatmore said the team is now showing the effects of playing under the present conditions for quite a while.

"I'd love to be in a position where we haven't gone through tough times. But the sad fact is that teams from the subcontinent need a bit of time to adjust to South African and Australian conditions. We have gone through that period of frustration and I felt that towards the end of the Australian tour there was some light at the end of the tunnel," said Whatmore.

"That first match was very important and we came out victors.We can't do any more than win this first game. The boys are quite buoyed with their position at the moment. Lots of people looked at the first match and said, it could have gone either way. More thought that New Zealand could win," he said.

"We have a 100 percent record against Bangladesh and we want to keep it that way. But in order to do that you cannot relax. Any team can jump up and beat you if you let your guard down.

"You have only to look at the last World Cup. Pakistan was regarded as a very strong team playing Bangladesh. See the result that was achieved in that particular game," he said.

Whatmore said the next three games, although it won't be as intense as that against West Indies and South Africa were very important because of the points you take from them. "Even if they are non qualifiers for the next round, it could make the difference towards qualifying for the second phase of the competition," said Whatmore.

The competition rules states that the six teams that qualify for the Super Six phase carry forward the points they gained not only against the other qualifiers (4 points for each win and 2 points each for a no-result or tie), but also a win they achieve against the non-qualifiers (1 point for each win and 1/2 point for a no-result or tie).

Bangladesh coach Mohsin Kamal cast aside his team's shock defeat at the hands of Canada on Tuesday, and said that 'cricket is a funny game' and that his team was capable of better performances.

"We batted poorly and we didn't play according to the situations. Every match has an importance and we will go and play positive and not repeat the same mistakes as we did in the previous game," said Kamal.

He said that Bangladesh were capable of chasing bigger totals like when they scored over 250 in 45 overs in a practice match against the Dolphins.

"You never know about our players. If someone plays according to the situation and gets going, there is always a chance of an upset. If we have a very good day, I think all the hard work we've done can make that day in your favour. That's what you have to play for," said Kamal, a former Pakistan fast bowler.

Kamal said the problem with Bangladesh cricket was the expectations of winning was too much.

"I think it will come with the passage of time. The boys understand and I understand but we can only bring the win by minimising the margin of defeats rather than going for wins," said Kamal.

"Out of all the countries who are playing against each other, losing and winning is part of the game. Countries like Pakistan and Australia all lose, but they always come back.

The boys have to learn how to win a game under pressure. How you take pressure and fight against that.

Thats what they have to learn. Nobody can make them learn until they do it by themselves," he said.

One unique feature about the Pietermaritzburg Oval is that like the ground in Canterbury, there is a tree inside the boundary line. According to local rules, if the ball strikes the tree the batsman is awarded four.

If it passes through the tree without disturbing the foliage, the shot is worth six, although it would require many television replays to verify that.

The teams: 

Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (c), Marvan Atapattu, Hashan Tillakaratne, Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva, Russell Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Buddhika Fernando.

Bangladesh (from): Khaled Mashud (c), Mohammad Al-Shariar, Alok Kapali, Habibul Bashar, Hannan Sarker, Ehsanul Haque, Sanuar Hossain, Khaled Mahmud, Manjurul Islam, Masrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafiquq, Talha Jubair, Tapash Baisya, Tushar Imran.

Umpires: Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand), TV umpire: Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Match Referee: Gundappa Viswanath (India).

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