Sri Lanka will host the Englishmen for a grueling 7-match ODI series which starts on the 26th of November and both teams are looking forward for an enthralling four weeks as the tour was officially launched at a press conference held at Taj Samudra Hotel on Thursday evening.
Sri Lanka had their most successful tour of England during the 2014 summer where they brought back all the available series trophies. The tides have changed drastically as this time around the Islanders will host a talented England team and the hosts are riding low after a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the Indians.
Sri Lanka Cricket, assistant secretary, Hirantha Perera welcomed all the local and foreign media and expressed his gratitude towards the visitors, “This tour will be an ideal preparation for the world cup and players from both teams will be keen to showcase their talents and claim their spot in the respective teams for this mega event. On behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket, I extend my sincere thanks to England and Wales Cricket Board for making this series possible. I am looking forward for an exciting series.”
England skipper, Alastair Cook started off his speech with a traditional Lankan ‘Ayubowan’ and shared his views on the upcoming series, “Firstly, it is great to be here in Sri Lanka and I personally love the hospitality given by the locals. It is going to be a real test of our cricketing abilities against a tough nation. I wish Sri Lanka all the best for a cracking series. It was close in England but we owe Angelo’s men a little revenge. “
Cook answered various questions from the media with composed confidence, “We need to adapt quickly to the conditions and focus mainly on winning this series. We have come here to win this series and we will look into a few options in order to succeed here and give the players many opportunities to cement their place in the world cup squad.”
Sri Lanka captain, Angelo Mathews greeted his counterpart with great respect and spoke on the show they will put up in the upcoming 7 matches, “I welcome Alastair and his team as I hope you enjoy your pleasant stay here in our beautiful country. I agree that we had a disappointing series in India but one series won’t make us a bad team. We are really looking forward for the England series and we will try our best to fix our problems. We have not yet finalized our squad and one area we would discuss a lot on selection will be our opening pair and we will try out some new options to get a fixed lineup after this series. “
Angelo Mathews responded to a question on some of the hostilities which happened in England few months back, “We had a good time in England but, yes there were few controversies but it is all part and parcel of the game. We have a good relationship with the English players and as always, we will play hard and try to win the series. “
Alastair Cook unhesitatingly responded to his opposing captain and the audience, “I second that.”
Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu made his remarks on the mediocre Indian tour, “The techniques of our young batsmen were questionable throughout the series but it was all about handling the pressure in places like India where playing international cricket is a daunting task for a newcomer. We need to up our game against England and work on winning the series.”
Both captains’ unveiled the trophy on offer after 7 matches at the end of the media conference.
England tour of Sri Lanka 2014 match schedule
1st ODI | 26th Nov| RPS Colombo | 14:30 local
2nd ODI| 29th Nov| RPS Colombo | 10:00 local
3rd ODI | 3rd Dec | Hambantota | 14:30 local
4th ODI | 7th Dec | RPS Colombo | 10:00 local
5th ODI | 10th Dec| Pallekele | 14:30 local
6th ODI | 13th Dec| Pallekele | 10:00 local
7th ODI | 16th Dec| RPS Colombo | 14:30 local
