Sri Lanka as the defending champions and England as the host country will play the curtain-raiser match of the 1999 World Cup at Lord's on May 14. Yesterday's final was more than a dress rehearsal because Sri Lanka won. Victorious captain Arjuna Ranatunga didn't mince his words after the match when he said: ``A lot of people thought that we couldn't win in English conditions. But we proved them wrong. It's great to win here at Lord's, especially with the World Cup in mind next year.
``Some reckon we can win only in the sub-continent. But it is better to perform than talk. That's what we have done,'' said Ranatunga after Sri Lanka had beaten England by five wickets to claim the Emirates trophy and a cheque for 15,000 pounds sterling for their efforts.
``England are a really good side in their own conditions and South Africa is one of the best team's in international cricket. To beat both teams in England has done one helluva lot for our morale,'' said Ranatunga.
``We had a bad game against England in the qualifying round, but we were not duly worried. We worked hard after that. We had long chats, discussed where we went wrong and how to improve on our mistakes. Everyone came out with so many different ideas, that we picked the proper side to win the tournament. It was a really good team effort,'' he said.
One of the strengths the present side has is, they have shown that they can come from behind and win.
``We play a totally different brand of cricket that with the element of risks we take and the entertainment value we produce, critics who follow the orthodox type of game still look at us with some reservation, that we are not right up there,'' said Sri Lanka manager Ranjit Fernando.
He praised the batting of Marvan Atapattu who was picked the 2,500 pounds sterling Man-of-the-tournament by former South African opener Barry Richards.
``I think it is the finest innings Marvan has ever played. He has begun to believe in himself and he is starting to enjoy his cricket. He loves batting and there is a total change in his attitude,'' said Fernando.
Atapattu hit a one-day career best knock of 132 not out, his second century in the abbreviated game, to enable Sri Lanka top England's total of 256 for eight in the 48th over.
``Marvan played a wonderful knock and Romesh (Kaluwitharana) batted well. We needed someone to anchor the innings and Marvan did the job for us. He's been getting a lot of runs in the county matches and has been very consistent. He is having a great tour,'' said Ranatunga.
The Sri Lanka captain also praised the bowling of Muthiah Muralitharan, who spun out five Englishmen at Lord's to become former England captain David Gower's choice for the 1,500 pounds sterling Man-of-the-Match.
Sri Lanka's ace spinner was used in short spells (six in all) by Ranatunga to break the England batting and he obliged magnificently.
``A long time back I have told that Murali is the best off-spinner in the world. There is no doubt about it. The unfortunate thing is when he performs at home and in the sub-continent, his performances are not taken seriously. I am glad that he came to Lord's and got five wickets in a one-day game instead of a Test match. It is not easy to take five wickets in the short game,'' said Ranatunga.
With fast bowler Chaminda Vaas still recovering from injury, Muralitharan is the only match-winning bowler Sri Lanka has going into the one-off Test against England at the Oval on August 27. Vaas arrived in England on Monday, and has been under treatment from physio Alex Kountouri for a groin injury. He is presently not a part of the touring team.
After yesterday's victory, Ranatunga fancied his team's chances in the one-off Test against England.
``This win will give a lot of confidence to the players. Test cricket is a totally different ball game, but with the confidence we have gained by winning the triangular, I can't see any reason why we cannot perform well,'' said Ranatunga.
``We know that England have a very good Test side. They played very well against South Africa. Because they won the series, it puts a lot of pressure on England rather than on us. It won't be easy but we will work really hard towards achieving a win,'' he said.
England suffered a major blow when batsman Nasser Hussain suffered a groin injury and did not take the field for the last 15 overs of the final. ``Losing Hussain would be a big blow. The situation is not quite clear yet, but he certainly cannot play for the next couple of days. He seemed to slip while fielding and couldn't carry on, it's a worry,'' said England captain Alec Stewart.
Stewart was worried about England's batting collapses which became routine during the tournament, and said: ``It's not an easy game against quality spinners that Sri Lanka have got. But we have to overcome that, actually in the World Cup it maybe different. In May-June the wickets may have a bit more moisture and you may not come up with a wicket like we played yesterday''.
``This is the first time we played with a white ball in international cricket in England. We saw how much it moved around. It didn't move, around much yesterday. I think we were about 20 to 25 runs short in batting and we gave away another 15 to 20 on the field. If you are going to beat top sides in one-day cricket, which Sri Lanka are, you've got to be up there all the time,'' said Stewart.
``Muralitharan is a top bowler. His record in both forms of cricket is very good. We must wait and see what we find at the Oval. Certainly the way they play their cricket, Sri Lanka have verygood players. But it's a different style one-day and five-day cricket. We'll wait and see how they cope with it,'' said Stewart.
Altthough they won the Test series against South Africa, England lost both one-day series this summer - the Texaco trophy to South Africa by two matches to one, and now the Emirates Triangular tournament, which is not an encouraging start for a country who is looking forward to winning the World Cup next year.