Sanath Jayasuriya warns of tougher assignments ahead

As a rampant Sri Lankan side romped to a predictable series win against Zimbabwe, captain Sanath Jayasuriya warned of tougher challenges ahead in 2002.

"Performing overseas is very important for us and we now have some tough series coming up against England and South Africa," he warned. "There is now a big responsibility on all of us to continue are success there."

"You never know when the side will have a bad day but at the moment the team is on the way up, heading in the right direction and performing well," he added.

Coach Dav Whatmore was delighted with the team's newly found consistency: "We have always had the ability to be as good as anyone in the world, but in the past we would throw away Test matches with bad sessions and days.

"It's reassuring, for the players and the Sri Lankan public, that we are now putting together consistent performances," he said.

"Admittedly, all seven wins have been made at home, but you can only beat the opposition put in front of you.

"Life is good at the moment and the players have the right to enjoy this victory."

"Nevertheless, the players now that there are some greater examinations to come and their feet are firmly on the ground.

"We have set the objective of being in the top three Test teams and by an large we have achieved that - we now need to maintain it."

Muttiah Muralitharan, the man of the match after his 13 for 115 match-haul, believes that the side can now be successful overseas.

"At home I think we are second only to Australia now, but we have to prove ourselves in England and South Africa," he said.

"I think we can seriously think of winning overseas because the side is playing as a team and a number of good fast bowlers are now coming through."

Stuart Carlisle was also impressed by Sri Lanka, though he had reservations as to how they will fare overseas.

"They are a really good unit and have a balanced young side," said Carlisle. "However, it's not easy to place them because all seven wins have been at home, where they are extremely hard to beat.

"The big test will be when they go overseas. In England and Australia where the ball moves around a bit off the seam I think they could be in a bit of trouble."

He wished he had someone of the caliber of Muralitharan in his side.

"Murali is a world-class bowler," he said. "There are plenty of strategies about how to counter him, but at the end of the day he is very hard to play.

"I wonder what would have been the result if we had him in our side. He is a real asset for Sri Lanka and they should be really proud of him."

Carlisle admitted it was difficult captaining a losing side and didn't hide his disappointment with the team's performance.

"It was very disappointing. There were a couple of careless shots but on the whole I think we were a bit too tentative and sometimes negative.

"In the bowling department we have got to learn from Sri Lanka. They bowled to a plan, were tight and got the ball to reverse swing. In contrast, we bowled far too many four balls.

"But I do think the talent is there. We have the players but not the self-belief.

"We now have to use the final Test as preparation for our tour to India and try to put together a decent first innings score."

Jayasuriya appeared reluctant to make changes for the final Test.

"We need back-up players but we cant make any big changes because there is only one Test match left at home and we need to give the players as much confidence of possible," he said.

He expects Muralitharan to be fit: "Murali didn't have any problems in the second innings. In fact, he was troubled more with his spinning finger than the dislocated one. He now has a chance to take 400 in Galle and he will play."