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| Friday, 1 4 November 2003 |
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Break from cricket was most welcome, says Atapattu by Sa'adi Thawfeeq Sri Lanka one-day captain Marvan Atapattu said that it was back to business for his team following the long break they had from cricket. "The break was very important for us after a long period of competition. We all enjoyed the break. Now it's a matter of putting things together. Everybody is very eager to start off. We are all looking forward to the big competition," said Atapattu. Since the end of June when Sri Lanka finished their tour of the West Indies, they have had no international competition. The break was most welcome by the players and more so Atapattu. "It enabled me to get back to family life. To be with my family who has helped me a lot. They do sacrifice a lot when we are out playing cricket. When you get a break like this, it is important to give 100 percent of your time to them. I am sure the others also would have done the same and enjoyed the time with their families," said Atapattu. Atapattu said the one-day international series against England will be very competitive. "England is full of confidence having beaten Bangladesh. But I am sure Sri Lanka will be somewhat different. If we put our talents and jobs together I think we stand a chance of beating them," he said. "England is a young side with a lot enthusiasm. They have done well in the last couple of tournaments. They maybe without experienced campaigners like Darren Gough and Andy Caddick, but James Anderson, Andrew Flintoff and Ricky Clarke seems to have done the job for them in Bangladesh. They will certainly be tested out here," Atapattu said. With injuries holding back two key fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Prabath Nissanka, Sri Lanka will introduce a couple of new faces in their line up. None has impressed more than 21-year-old Nuwan Kulasekara from Galle CC. The right-arm fast-medium bowler has improved in leaps and bounds that experts see him as 'great potential' for the future. "Nuwan seems to impress everybody. Our fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake was very interested in him. He has the ability to bowl well with the old ball and get a little bit of reverse swing. It's important for a fast bowler to be able to bowl with the old ball. From what I've heard and from what I've seen he has great potential," said Atapattu. Atapattu said that Fernando had to be left out to give him a little bit more time to regain his rhythm bowling with a new action. Fernando has recovered sufficiently from a back strain. Nissanka who underwent a knee operation will be out until January. In their absence it is pleasing to see Nuwan Zoysa back in the fold, eager and enthusiastic to perform well. Zoysa has been out of the national team for nearly a year following indifferent form. But he has worked harder towards regaining his place for the England series. Not only is he bowling well but he has shown that he can bat also with some useful performances for the Sri Lanka 'A' team on their recent tour to Kenya. Zoysa in fact was asked to open the batting and went onto pick up three man-of-the-match awards as Kenya's national team was beaten 5-0 in the one-day series. "Zoysa is vastly experienced. He is showing a lot of enthusiasm in his approach. He has lost a few kilos. He has contributed with the bat and he is bowling tremendously in the nets. With Zoysa being among the runs I am sure it will give us more options to make changes in the batting order. It's good to have players who are in form," said Atapattu. Zoysa is like to renew his alliance with Chaminda Vaas by sharing the new ball with him. Atapattu said that Sri Lanka will stick to their tried and tested opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana who had a good series in the West Indies where Sri Lanka won 2-1. The three one-day internationals against England will be played at Dambulla on November 18 and at the R. Premadasa Stadium on November 21 and 23. |
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