Sri Lanka will take on South Africa in a series clash for the Royal Stag Cricket Gear Trophy 2014 which is to commence on Sunday the 6th of July 2014 at the R. Premadasa Stadium Colombo. A media conference was held today at the Colombo Taj to unveil the Trophy and the new Sri Lanka home playing kit.
The Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket Mr. Nishantha Ranathunga broke the ice by welcoming the South African team to Sri Lanka. He went on to say that “this series should make sure the two teams play this series in the best level of friendship bringing the two countries together”.
Ranatunga stated that Sri Lanka Cricket takes pride in hosting the South African team, a country which was instrumental in taking the initiative to establish the initial formation of the present International Cricket Council (ICC). He also said “matches will be played across the country giving the visitors a chance to see and experience the country during their stay”. He wished both teams the very best ahead of an exciting series.
Angelo Mathews, the skipper of the Sri Lankan outfit welcomed his counterpart A B De Villiers and his team to Sri Lanka and said “ South Africa always plays competitive cricket so, we look forward to this series”. Mathews spouted a very brief bunch of words from the podium much unlike his batting.
The Proteas skipper AB De Villiers said they are very proud to be in Sri Lanka once again, “This will be a great tour especially with the Sri Lanka team in great form” said De Villers. He also made note on Sri Lanka’s success in England by adding “achieving what they did in the previous series was special, achieving it in England was even more special”. He extended his best wishes to Angelo and the team and ended his address by thanking SLC for inviting them for this series.
This series of 3 ODIs and 2 Tests will definitely be keenly followed by many a cricket enthusiast as both these teams are eying the number 2 slot in the ICC ODI ratings. Sri Lanka being 3 points behind Australia has a chance to even move up to the number one spot of the rankings. Matthews answering a question by the media in this regard went to say “we just want to take it game by game, series by series. We shouldn’t concentrate on rankings but on playing good cricket doing the right things and eventually we could move up the ratings”
South Africa hasn’t been too successful in past series in Sri Lankan soil and the South African skipper had this to say” Sri Lankans play very good cricket at home. We have had our experiences and we have learnt from our past mistakes and experiences” going on to say that they expect to change their past track records playing the Lions in their own den.
Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews addressing the media
To another questions by the media on leg spinner Imran Taahir and how he was expected to handle the sub-continental conditions, De Villiers said “Imran is an attacking bowler who can adjust to the situation” There was interest in JP Duminy who has proven his temperament with the ball in the past year or so. Although he is not considered as a main stream bowler, Duminy too would be a key contender in the spin department of this upcoming series where in these conditions and the visiting skipper endorsed this factor.
The newly appointed successful coach of the Sri Lankan team Marvan Atapattu, when asked about his preparation for his second challenge to come after his successful run in English sojourn replied “ The England tour is over, it’s the past. We should be professional on this and move on by taking the positives and looking to improve. We should take maximum advantage of our current form”.
On the contrary the South African coach said “it is important to win against a team like Sri Lanka before going into the World cup. It’ll give a physiological advantage ahead of the tournament” commenting on his preparations for the upcoming world cup in 7 months.
On the topic of the Sri Lankan team Matthews said he is happy with the team selected as he got the team he wanted. The skipper who has not lost a series in 6 months said “the team has gelled well playing as one unit”. To the inevitable question of the Dinesh Chandimal omission Mathews stated “he is a very good player but, sometimes players hit rough patches. It is important then to give him a break and let him regain confidence. Kithruwan has performed well whenever he was given the opportunity so we decided to go with him over Chandimal”. On Sachithra Senanayake skipper Angelo said “Senanayake is good to play until the report is given out”. Another concern was raised by the media on the fitness of opener Kusal Janith to which the home skipper replied that he will be put to test tomorrow to finalize if he is fit and ready to play in Sunday’s series opener.
It was paparazzi frenzy as the trophy for the series was unveiled and the new Sri Lanka home playing kit was displayed at the conference by the skipper himself cutting a dashing figure.
The series which is to start off on Sunday will undoubtedly be one to watch as the two teams look to dish out exciting cricket and this would also be looked as a gauge ahead of the ICC cricket World cup in 7 months.
