Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lanka coach, has insisted his side won’t underestimate a faltering England in their match-up on Sunday (March 1), while Chris Woakes has admitted his team need to beat a “big side” such as Sri Lanka if they are to get their World Cup campaign up and running.
“They have a fantastic seam bowling line-up there,” said Atapattu of England’s attack on Saturday. “They are a balanced side. It is just that I don’t think they can be very happy about how things have unrolled for them in the recent past. Having said that, they have made it to the (tri-series) final against Australia in Australia. That’s always a positive.
“The format is such that we’ve got to guard against being complacent. We’ve just got to play the best cricket that we can on the day.”
England are yet to beat a Test nation in the tournament so far, having been thrashed by co-hosts Australia (111 runs) and New Zealand (eight wickets) before seeing off Scotland last time out.
Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, were also beaten by New Zealand before defeating Afghanistan and Bangladesh to leave them second in Pool A heading into this weekend’s clash in Wellington.
Reflecting on Sri Lanka’s inconsistent form so far, Atapattu said, “The last two games have been good for us, although it was a very close game against Afghanistan. Having said that, we would expect our No. 8 to score the way he scored in the Dunedin game.”
When England played at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium last week, they were shot out for just 123 by New Zealand, with Tim Southee getting plenty of swing on his way to a stunning haul of 7 for 33. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, has hoped there’s as much swing on offer on Sunday, although the Sri Lankans could yet do some damage in those conditions if Lasith Malinga is at his best.
“Any batsman wouldn’t like the ball swinging too much, our batsmen, their batsmen,” said Atapattu. “At the end of the day, it’s the skill Southee had. Not too many bowlers in that line-up apart from Southee swung the ball on that day. If it swings, I think any batsman would struggle. He won’t be in his comfort zone.”
Win will do wonders: Woakes
With group games against perennial strugglers Bangladesh and tournament newcomers Afghanistan to come, England could qualify for the quarterfinals without defeating a major side, given four teams out of the seven in Pool A will head into the knockout phase. But Woakes said a win over Sri Lanka at the Westpac would do wonders for England’s self-belief.
“It’s important that we do show up against the big teams,” said Woakes. “Obviously tomorrow is a big game, having already lost two in the tournament. Sri Lanka are a good side, so we know we’ve got to be on our game.
“We want to get through to the quarter-finals and you’re going to have to beat big teams on the way. Tomorrow is obviously a big opportunity for us.”
Woakes is England’s leading bowler at the tournament so far, with five wickets in three matches at an average of under 20, and he said he was confident and “in a good place” going into the next game.
“I think since arriving in Australia, I felt like I’ve hit my straps pretty well, executed plans reasonably well,” said Woakes, who has proved far more economical in the World Cup thus far than England spearhead seamers James Anderson (averaging 67) and Stuart Broad (58.50).
He admitted things didn’t go to plan in England’s last match in Wellington, against New Zealand, but said his team was eager to put the embarrassing loss behind them. “It’s hard to read too much into that game, I suppose,” he said. “We were pretty poor. We obviously didn’t get a total on the board, and Tim Southee bowled exceptionally well, as well. Hopefully we’re past that now and can put that behind us, but it would be good to get back there and show people what we can do.”
