New Zealand encounter is must-win game, says SL coach

Coach Dav Whatmore believes that Sri Lanka's recent experience of South African conditions could provide them with a crucial advantage in their World Cup opener against New Zealand on Monday.

Sri Lanka were whitewashed in the Test series and then hammered 4-1 in the one-day series that followed but Whatmore believes that crucial lessons were learned.

"We needed to go through the pain and heartache in South Africa and in Australia to get an understanding of those conditions," said Whatmore. "It will hold us in good stead despite the confidence being knocked a bit."

New Zealand, meanwhile, last played at home where they swarmed all over the Indians, winning the seven-match series 5-2 on lush, green tracks ill-suited to the limited overs game.

Whatmore questions whether that was ideal preparation for the World Cup: "They won on bowler friendly wickets. It is not going to be easy to adjust in such a short space of time."

The Sri Lankans hope that the pitch will be similar in pace to the turgid surface that assisted their spinners during their second warm-up game against Free State last week.

With off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan having recovered from a thigh injury, Sri Lanka will bowl a minimum of 20 overs of spin during the match.

Sri Lanka have an excellent recent record against the Black Caps having won 13 of the last 16 matches played since 1997 but Whatmore still rates them highly.

New Zealand are not a team of big stars, but bits and pieces players who do it fairly well and with good team spirit. They have a good history of starting competitions well," said Whatmore.

Whatmore predicts that result will be crucial: "Its a must win situation. It will give the team a big boost if we can get away to a win. It will probably be the match of the round in our pool."

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming is unperturbed by his side's previous form against Sri Lanka, pointing instead to their reputation as starters.

"We usually start tournaments well," said Fleming. "We're going to do well because we believe in the squad we have."

The return of explosive all-rounder Chris Cairns also adds to substance to a batting line-up that relies heavily on the class of Nathan Astle.

Cairns will not bowl during the early games having not regained full fitness after a long-term knee injury.

The all-rounder also has confidence in his teammates: "In the last two tournaments we had a good side and thought we would do well, but this one here, with the side we've got we're quietly confident.

"The preparation's been fantastic and it's the best unit I've been involved in, that's for sure."

Sri Lanka (from):

S Jayasuriya (captain), M Atapattu, M Jayawardene, K Sangakkara, A De Silva, R Arnold, J Mubarak, A Gunawardene, H Tillakaratne, M Muralitharan, C Vaas, D Fernando, P Gunaratne, P Nissanka, C Buddhika Fernando.

New Zealand (from):

S Fleming (captain), A Adams, N Astle, S Bond, C Cairns, C Harris, C McMillan, J Oram, S Styris, D Tuffey, D Vettori, L Vincent, B McCullum.