Vaas remains modest as Carlisle hopes it's a freak day

Sri Lankan fast bowler Chaminda Vaas claimed it was the best performance of his career whilst Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle hoped it was just a "freak day" as the tourists were bowled for 38, the lowest ever One-Day International (ODI) total, at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.

Sri Lanka won the game, which was completed in 108 minutes and just 20 overs, also making it the shortest ever ODI in history, by nine wickets as Vaas claimed a hat-trick and became the first bowler to take more than seven wickets in one-day cricket.

Speaking afterwards, Vaas was modesty personified, even if the long queue of children scrambling for autographs begged to differ.

"It was a good toss to win and I just looked to put the ball in the right areas," he said. "The white ball swings more than the red ball and I bowled a good line and was rewarded.

He was though delighted to have claimed the hat-trick: "Yes, I am very happy to get hat-trick. I think it was the best achievement of my career."

He was unconcerned by Muttiah Muralitharan taking the last two, which prevented him from taking all ten: "I am not worried about records, I just want to do well for my country and team."

Coach Dav Whatmore called it an "out-of-the-world" performance but wasn't surprised by Vaas's recent success, which included career best bowling figures in the last Test against the West Indies.

"These sort of performances don't happen by accident, he has been working really hard in the gym, the running track and the nets," said Whatmore.

"Mentally, he has adjusted to being the top pace bowler in the side and no longer puts himself under too much pressure. He is relaxed and bowling better for it," he added.

"We felt there was some moisture there early and to extract an advantage from that we had to bowl first. Chaminda (Vaas) then put it in the right area, swung it around and was very hard to play."

Captain Sanath Jayasuriya, though delighted with Vaas and his side's start, warned afterwards against over-complacency: "We can't things lightly and need to be alert in the next few games. I will warn the players against over confidence. Nevertheless, we have been playing well and we want to continue that good form."

Zimbabwean captain Stuart Carlisle put a brave face on events and hoped it was a one-off event, even though it now means that, other than Bangladesh, Zimbabwe have lost their last 22 ODIs.

"This was basically a freak game, things just didn't go right for us and not a great start to the tournament," he said

"Vaas did bowl well in favourable conditions and maybe the guys were a bit tentative and got caught in two minds. Having just come from Sharjah and Bangladesh though, where the ball hardly swung, it has been difficult to adjust to conditions here where the ball has swung early on."

But Carlisle was not humourless, pointing out wryly, that: "Some of the younger guys will have learnt a little bit about the inswinger." He now wants the team to quickly move on.

"We have got to get some smiles back in the camp because it is not very nice in the changing room at the moment. It's up to us guys in the top order to put our hands up and lead from the front."

Zimbabwe play their next game against West Indies on Sunday.