Jayawardene confident of Sri Lanka's chances

Mahela Jayawardene, who led Sri Lanka to the World Cup final, will be hoping his team can go one step further at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa © Getty Images

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, has expressed confidence over his team's chances at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa, commencing on September 11.

"If we play to our strengths and work hard, there is no reason why we should not succeed in a game which is largely a new one to us," Jayawardene said at an ICC conference call. Jayawardene had led Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup in the West Indies earlier this year.

However, Jayawardene indicated his preference for Test cricket. "It is the ultimate goal," Jayawardene said, "but these other forms of the game are exciting as well."

Jayawardene admitted his side were short on experience when it comes to Twenty20 cricket. "We have only been playing for two years and countries like England have been playing a lot longer, so they have to be favourites," he said. "But if we have our game plans - our different strategies - and if we stick to them and execute them properly there is no reason why we should not go all the way."

Jayawardene believes Sanath Jayasuriya will be a key figure for Sri Lanka at the top of the batting order, but feels his bowlers can succeed in the format. "Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan - they are all wicket-takers in all forms of the game, and taking wickets up front in this format is particularly vital," he said. "If a side loses quick wickets in a Twenty20 game there is very little time to recover. So bowlers will be a key part."

He also suggested that Twenty20 may not necessarily become a specialists' game. "When one-day cricket was just beginning, there was a school of thought that Test players would not necessarily make good one-day players and this is still the case in many instances. But there are exceptions and I expect the same will apply to Twenty20 cricket."

Jayawardene felt the fast-paced nature of Twenty20 makes it challenging. "It all happens so quickly that any team could suddenly find itself with the advantage. If you make just one mistake, it is very hard to get back into the game."