Sri Lanka-West Indies Series:

A dress rehearsal for the World Cup

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Sri Lanka and the touring West Indies team believe that their upcoming test and one day series will be a dress rehearsal ahead of the more important ICC World Cup in the sub continent.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and West Indian captain Darren Sammy expressed their confidence as they look to build up the momentum with a great amount of success in the tests and one day series which will be worked off at the World Cup venues.

Except for the opening test match at the Galle Stadium all other matches will be played at the World Cup venues namely the Pallekelle Stadium, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota and the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Even then Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara believes that the real hard days are ahead of the team as they prepare to play their first test series minus legendary off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sangakkara stated that one cannot replace a spinner in the calibre of Muralitharan and players like Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv and Ajantha Mendis will need to share the wickets to put the side in a winning position.

The Sri Lankan captain also expressed his satisfaction in playing two of the three test matches away from Colombo which will be a tremendous boost to the game in the outstations.

Sangakkara also expected the West Indies to bounce back and provide a real challenge to his team although the Lankans will take the field at the back drop of a historic one day series triumph against Australia.

West Indian captain Darren Sammy said that although the World Cup is around the corner their prime goal at the moment is to win the test and one day series against Sri Lanka.

“We will be looking to play total team cricket everyone is expected to make a positive contribution. Spin bowling is always a major factor in Sri Lanka, as the pitches as usually flat and slow.

With this in mind we have our plans for the series and we will look to execute.

We have to bat for long periods, and this is something we have been working on we have to make sure we put our runs on the board. We want to give our bowlers something to bowl at and ensure that we stay in the game at all times,” Sammy said.

Sammy also believes that under his leadership the West Indies could redeem some of their lost prestige and bring back their past glory through some real hard work, commitment and determination.

The West Indian captain stated that cricket is more than a game in the Caribbean and this series could be the ideal stepping stone to revive their past glory.

The two teams will battle it out for the ERI Trophy which has been exquisitely crafted in porcelain and plated in 24 carat gold and platinum which is the first porcelain cricket trophy and made by Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC a subsidiary of ERI.