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| Tuesday, 14 September 2004 |
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Will rain hamper Lanka-Zimbabwe game today ? Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting from England It is Autum in England with the usual muggy weather and rains setting in, and indications are that the ICC Champions Trophy match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe would be marred by rain and gloom. The Sri Lankans who are cock-a-hoop after their excellent showing against South Africa, are confident that they can beat the Zims who are still struggling after skipper Heash Streak and his breakaway deserted them. With the Sri Lankans finishing their net session at the Oval on Sunday, rain began to rear its ugly head and continued through the night, and at the time of writing, it is still falling and its very dark. Everyone here is querying as to why the ICC was in a hurry to conduct this showpiece at this time of the year, because come September the fickle English weather begins to play its own game. But the ICC apparently is least concerned as to what happens to the game and the tournament because they have made their money. The consensus here is that the tournament should have been played at the beginning of the season. Anyway their is no point is crying over spilt milk, but for the teams to get on with it and do the best thing they know, that is playing the game. The Lankans had a long net session at the Oval, with everyone having a good workout. The players are all fit and well with each player proving his credentials for selection. Lalith Kaluperuma, one from the selection panel who is here watched the team at practice and he was convinced that it would be a tough task to select the playing eleven. However he indicated that the selectors would have a long jaw before pencilling 12 players from which the final eleven would be chosen after a close look at the wicket. I think that the Sri Lankans will go in with seven batsmen and four bowlers. That means that Kaushal Lokuarachchi who played in the final game against South Africa, making way for skipper Marvan Attapattu. Atapattu who was a very worried man over his daughter's illness, is now smiling and although he is confident they can beat the Zims, he will be telling the team to not allow complacency to set in. Cricket is a funny game and anything can happen and the Lankans must not underestimate the opponents, because they have nothing to lose and will come out with all guns firing. With the prevailing weather and the wicket being covered, it would be foolish to predict how the wicket would play. But the best thing is, if the Lankans win the toss is to bat. Will the lankans do that? After the net former skipper Sanath Jayasuriya said that they would be taking no chances and would be ruthless from the first ball not letting the Zimbabweans a chance to get their strategy going. But the Zimbabweans in their first game against England, bowled many wides and the press here has tagged them 'Wide Boys'. They were trying too hard and lost control. This game and the tournament is a new beginning. They must forget their success against South Africa and begin all over again. Cricket is such an unpredictable game where the underdogs have known to upset. A loss would mean tumbling out of the tournament for Sri Lanka. The Lankans are likely to line up like this: Sanath Jayasuriya, Avishka Gunawardena, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Saman Jayantha, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Farvez Mahroof and Nuwan Zoysa. |
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