Mother of all one day battles, says Arjuna Ranatunga (28 December 1998)

28 December 1998

Mother of all one day battles, says Arjuna Ranatunga

By Elmo Rodrigopulle

'The mother of all one-day battles'. That is how Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka's captain cool described the Carlton and United one-day series between Australia, England and Sri Lanka to be played in Australia from January 11 in an eve-of-departure interview.

As usual Ranatunga exuded confidence and said that the squad has put their debacles in Dhaka and Sharjah behind them as a bad dream and are all out to come good and cock a snook at their detractors.

'When we win we are heroes. When we lose we are villains. I can't understand the attitudes of the critics. Winning and losing is a part and parcel of the game. To expect us to win every time is poor thinking. I hope the critics will think like sportsmen the next time round.

My team will take the field determined to win. In the process if we lose, that is something that must be accepted. No team will want to throw away a game. I have instilled in every member of the team that if we are to succeed, negative thinking has no place.

'Attack is the best form of defence. And that is how we will go in every game. Australia and England have always tried to pick holes in our make up every time we beat them. They always trot out excuses for their defeats and very rarely appreciate and applaud our success.

'We will prove to them that our victories against them on previous occasions were no flashes in the pan. Sri Lankans domiciled in Australia will be behind us cheering and encouraging us. That should produce the aggressiveness in our players.

Ranatunga is aware that some of his players have been lined up for psyching, not only by the opponents but the media as well. Muralitharan has been marked. If they throw bombs at us, we have the missiles to counter them. We will not cringe. We will fight fire with fire. We have a few secrets up our sleeves. If the Australians and Englishmen think they can outplay us, other than on the field then at the end of it all they will be the ones who will regret', said Ranatunga who wanted me to assure every Sri Lankan that his team will be looking to bring home the Carlton and United trophy and that they would not lack for want of trying.

'It's a challenge. We are geared to face it and overcome it', said manager Ranjit Fernando who is happy the way the squad has been performing at the nets under coach Roy Dias.

'Our fielding which was world class at one time has dropped drastically. We have placed special emphasis on this aspect and our fielders will always be attacking the ball'.

'It was a similar tour to Australia in 1994 that set us on the path to winning the World Cup. That was a tour where the Aussies bent backwards to make it awkward for our players, by alleging ball tampering and later 'calling' the world's number one off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan. That gave the players the determination and kept the adrenalin pumping when we played in the World Cup and what happened subsequently is history now', said Fernando who is confident that his squad will not come out the second best in this triangular tourney.

Coach Roy Dias said that the squad will peak when the first international comes around. He is happy the way the players have been preforming and said that the team will do well in Australia.

Dias said that physio Alex Kountouri has been doing a wonderful job with the players, especially the injured Muralitharan, Aravinda de Silva, Nuwan Zoysa and Upul Chandana.

According to De Silva he will skip the three run-up games, and probably the first one-day game. But will be fit to make his blade do the talking in the remaining games.

Following the squad, cheering and proudly waving the lion flag as he always does will be Lionel Nawaragodagedera. Another couple who will be around offering a helping hand will be Nihal and Nellie Fernando who are domiciled in New Zealand, but who make it a point to tour wherever the Lankan cricketers play.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)