Sri Lanka's cricketers arrived at London Heathrow this morning for their first ever Test series in England hopeful that they can quickly forget a meek performance in Sharjah and overcome the loss of star bowler Muttiah Muralitharan for the early part of the tour.
Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's captain for nearly three years now, who has marshalled his side to their nine consecutive Tests, admitted that the loss of Muralitharan for the first Test, and possibly the second, was a major blow, but was hopeful that the team would respond well to the challenge.
"I am very worried about Murali missing him on the early part of England tour," he said. "It's going to be very tough tour and to not have Murali and Dilhara Fernando (back injury) is a major blow. There is now a lot of responsibility on the other fast bowlers to perform well in their absence.
"England will perform well in their own conditions and we have a fight in our hands against them, but we do have some experienced players such as Aravinda (De Silva) and Hashan (Tillakartne) and now have a very good side that includes some excellent fast bowlers.
Nevertheless, with Sri Lanka having not won a Test match in the last ten years without the services of Muralitharan, Jayasuriya is hopeful that his spin magician is back for the second Test at Edgbaston: "According to Alex (Kontouri) he should be able to play in the third Test at Old Trafford and has a slim chance of playing in the second Test."
Sri Lanka's coach Dav Whatmore maintains that the team has the potential to win overseas and cast off their reputation for playing poorly abroad.
"The team has moved on from the last England series," said Whatmore. "We have had new players come into the side make an impression, some of the existing players have progressed, confidence has grown and the players have become tougher mentally."
"We want to emerge as a world force in Test cricket - a team that cannot be taken lightly in any conditions, against any opposition. To win in England would be a fantastic moment for Sri Lankan cricket."
"The key to being successful there will be how quickly we can adapt to the conditions. We can expect time to be lost for poor weather and each player must make full use of their opportunities in the practice games."
Jayasuriya brushed aside the team's 217 run humiliation against Pakistan in Sharjah Cup 2002 final, claiming that it was now history, but some concerned navel gazing is inevitable. Sri Lanka can ill-afford to repeat the selection blunders made there in England.
"Our overall performance in Sharjah was good - we won three games - but we were outplayed in every department in the final where everything went against us," Jayasuriya said. "But I don't think that's a worrying factor. What we have to consider it all history and move on."
He admitted the decision to play five batsmen was a mistake. "We had tried both Kalu (Romesh Kaluwitharana) and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the middle order without great success and in the final we opted for Kumar Dharmasena whom we believed could handle the pressure."
Sri Lanka play their first game against Kent at Canterbury next Friday, the first of four first class practice games before the first Test at Lords starting May 16. They will play three Tests and a triangular one-day series also involving India.
© CricInfo
| Teams | England, Sri Lanka. |
| Players/Umpires | Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dav Whatmore, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Dharmasena. |
| Tours | Sri Lanka in England |
| Tournaments | Sharjah Cup |
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