COLOMBO, 27 September — In what promises to be another great battle of attrition, hosts Sri Lanka and favorites Australia lock horns today in the second semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Tournament here at the Premadasa Stadium.
The two world champion teams — Australia are the current title holders having won in 1999 and Sri Lanka are former holders after their win in 1996 — provide a study in contrast. The Australians have great depth in their batting.
They have world class fast bowlers in McGrath, Gillespie and Lee. The Lankans depend mainly on the firepower of skipper Jayasuriya. And in bowling it is the spin of Muralitharan, the “Smiling Assassin” who is likely to be the home team’s trump card. Neither team has won this tournament.
South Africa were the winners in 1998 in Dhaka when the event was dubbed a Mini World Cup and in Nairobi 2000 it was renamed the ICC Knockout Tournament and New Zealand emerged the champions. Australian skipper Ponting admitted that it was going to be a tough match.
“Yes it is going to be a fiery contest. We will do everything to win the game,” Ponting said at the news conference yesterday. He also said it was perhaps the biggest game of his career as a captain. When asked who were the danger men in the Lankan side, Ponting replied: “There are so many. Jayasuriya can be very dangerous when he gets going. Muralitharan is a world class bowler and hard to tackle.” He denied that there was a big gap between Australia and the remaining world teams.
“It is not true that we are far superior to others and there is a big gap. Whoever plays better on a given day will win. So our status does not put us under any extra pressure,” Ponting said. He was happy with the performance of his team in the competition. “Our squad is very good, batting is quite solid,” Ponting added. He said he would not bother much whether they bat first or chase and the long period of inactivity had not affected the team. “We have had good practice facilities and are familiar with the conditions. This tournament is different from others so these big gaps between matches are unavoidable. The heat is the only worry especially after what happened to Gibbs yesterday,” Ponting said. Talking about the South Africans, Ponting said it was not fair to dub them as “chokers. It happens to all the teams chasing. Midway in their innings, they lost their way and so lost the match,” Ponting said. He said there was no input from Steve Waugh as he was not part of the team and there would be no confusion among the ranks when Steve takes over from him for the Test series against Pakistan.
“We are used to two captains for some time now. So that shouldn’t be a problem. Also the switching over from one-day cricket to Tests is nothing new for us,” Ponting said.
Sri Lanka captain Jayasuriya agrees with Ponting that it is going to be a tough game. “We are going to fight to win it. At the moment we are playing well. Also, we are playing in Colombo,” Jayasuriya said at a news conference.
He said he bowled only three overs in the pool matches but if he needs to bowl, he will bowl in the semifinal.
“We have absolutely no pressure playing in front of home fans. Australia are one of the best teams in the world. We have plan against them. We will see how it works,” Jayasuriya added.
He said they will decide whether to bat or bowl first after they see the wicket and that is when they will also pick their final eleven. Sri Lankan coach Whatmore feels his team’s ability to handle the Australians in the first 15 overs of each innings will decide the fate of the match.
“If our batsmen make a good start, they could earn a place in the final. But they have to contend with some hostile fast bowling,”
Whatmore added. Jayasuriya has made a remarkable recovery from the shoulder dislocation and smashed a century in the first match against Pakistan.
“We have to rely on Jayasuriya’s batting. But he could also play a crucial role with his left-arm spin. His mere presence in the team boosts the morale of others,” Whatmore explained.
