The Island by Rex Clementine
World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga says Sri Lanka has the best chance in many years to win the World Cup after the team’s quarter-final and semi-final fixtures were scheduled at home. Kumar Sangakkara’s side, the losing finalists of the 2007 World Cup will take on England in the quarter-finals on Saturday and if they win, will play either New Zealand or South Africa in the semi-final at the same venue on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka finished second in the points table in Group ‘A’ just behind Pakistan with nine points. Of their six first round games, Sri Lanka won four and were beaten by Pakistan while points were shared against Australia after rain washed off the game.
Read more"The fact that we will be playing our quarter-final and semi-final fixtures at home will be a huge advantage," Ranatunga, one of the four Sri Lankans to play in five Cricket World Cups, told ‘The Island’ yesterday.
"It’s a luxury we couldn’t afford when we won the World Cup in 1996. As you know, we played our quarter-final in Faisalabad and the semi-final in Calcutta. I believe this is our best chance in say, maybe for another 15 years, to win the World Cup. For me, the World Cup proper begins from the quarter-final onwards and we need to start playing our best cricket," Ranatunga, a veteran of over 250 ODIs in a career that spanned for 18 years said.
England have had an inconsistent World Cup campaign so far. While they beat South Africa in a thriller, they were beaten by minnows Bangladesh and Ireland in the first round.
"England will struggle against spin, no doubt about that, but having said that, we shouldn’t underestimate them. Andrew Strauss had led England admirably in this tournament and his leadership skills have been one of the standouts for me in England’s campaign," Ranatunga added.
"I am glad our top-order is among runs. All four of them have made hundreds in the tournament so far, but I am a bit worried about the middle-order though," Ranatunga who topped averages for Sri Lanka in three successive World Cups (1987, 1992 and 1996) said.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara is the highest run getter in the tournament with 363 runs in six innings at an average of 121. Tilakaratne Dilshan (286 runs at 47.66), Upul Tharanga (261 runs at 52.20) and Mahela Jayawardene (200 runs at 40.00) have all been among runs, but Angelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara Silva are yet to complete 100 runs in the competition.
