Confidence levels very high after ODI series win: Coach Mubarak

 The Sri Lanka U-19 cricket team celebrate their 2-1 ODI series win over West Indies at Dambulla

• Sri Lanka begin two-match U-19 4-day Youth test series v West Indies tomorrow

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka had not won a U-19 Youth ODI series since 2021, thus the 2-1 series win over West Indies was looked at by head coach Jehan Mubarak as one that brought confidence into the team.

 “It’s the first ODI series win since we started the Under-19 program last year,” said Mubarak. “We had a few bad series losing to England and to Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the Tri-Nations. For the confidence of the team, the morale and even for the coaching staff who for three months put in a lot of work, you feel that you have done the right things when you win. We always believed that we had good players with us but we didn’t get the results. Winning helps the confidence of the team otherwise, losing all the time is hard. Now the confidence level is very high and there is a lot of belief in the team.”

Mubarak took over as coach at the end of the last ICC U-19 World Cup in the Caribbean in 2022 and is preparing the squad for the next ICC U-19 World Cup in 1wwwwJanuary when Sri Lanka will be the host.

Sri Lanka won the first U-19 Youth ODI against West Indies by six wickets, but lost the second by 195 runs – a defeat which the coach described as “the determination was not there”.

 “Just the mindset. In the second ODI, because we won the first game easily and the warm-up game before that, the players relaxed a little bit and halfway through the innings they weren’t fighting enough on the field. They were happy to let West Indies score whatever runs they wanted on the board.” The result was that West Indies piled up 320-8 and bowled Sri Lanka out for 125.”

 “The final game, we were really determined to put up a good score and the way Pulindu (Perera) batted he gave a message to everybody. We were determined to somehow get there. We needed just one guy to set the tone and that attitude and. everybody fell in line,” Mubarak said.

Pulindu’s classic knock of 155, saw Sri Lanka win the third and decisive third ODI by 51 runs and take the three-match series 2-1. One of the biggest weaknesses the team was going through was that they were not batting their quota of 50 overs.

 “To do that someone in the top five has to be there till at least the 40th over,” said Mubarak. “That’s the target we have set ourselves, and we are doing that. In the last game Pulindu, the opener batted till the 47th over even though everyone else got out. In the first game, Dinura Kalupahana was there till the end. We are doing that well now, we are taking the game deep.”

Mubarak said the opposition West Indies provided in the series would be similar to what they would be facing during the U-19 World Cup.

 “This is the sort of opposition we are expecting from the other countries during the U-19 World Cup. In the Afghanistan and Bangladesh Tri-series everybody played this same brand of cricket, very positive and very aggressive. Everybody is looking to set 270 plus, there are very little periods of consolidation. Earlier, after a good start you consolidate and build up a partnership and try to get to 230-240, now those periods are not there. The batsman is always coming hard at the bowlers. Not only have the West Indies, but all the teams play that way.”

Mubarak said the two-match 4-day U-19 Youth tests starting at Dambulla on 5 September would be a challenge to both teams.

 “This squad of 20 boys have not played 4-day tests, for a lot of them this will be their first. It’s a big jump from 2-day school cricket to 4-day cricket. We played a few 3-day games last season but it’s a step up for them. It’s a mental challenge because we have been focusing a lot on the white ball. But it helps to identify the characters and develop their mental strength. The first U-19 test will be a challenge not only for our boys but for the West Indies as well. I don’t think they have played any four-day cricket either.”

 “In red ball cricket you need to learn to use the rough especially on good pitches. In ODI cricket we bowl wicket to wicket. This series was ideal preparation for the World Cup. It’s a gauge of what we have done in preparation for the last three months. After this series we need to do a small reset to see what areas we need to improve. Fielding is one area where we can improve a lot. It’s okay but not brilliant,” Mubarak added.