Hathurusingha confident in team prep ahead of England ODIs

Sri Lanka Captain Dinesh Chandimal and England Captain Eoin Morgan shake hands during the pre-series media briefing yesterday

By Madushka Balasuriya

Despite a horrendous World Cup campaign, Chandika Hathurusingha is confident in his side’s preparation ahead of what promises to be a taxing home series against a confident England side. And with just eight months to go for the World Cup, the Sri Lanka Head Coach is keen to see how his young side fairs against the number one ranked ODI team in World.

“England is a very good team in most conditions over the last few years. That’s one of the reasons why they’re the number one team in ODI cricket. It will give us a good measure of where we are at the moment. It’s always good to measure yourself with the best,” said Hathurusingha at a media briefing ahead of the ODI series between the two sides last evening.

In preparing for such a challenge, Hathurusingha isn’t taking anything for granted, not even home advantage. This is a particular point of contention in Dambulla, where the first two ODIs will be played, and a venue where Sri Lanka enjoy a mere 60% win rate.

“Our plans are the same as always, we’ve been training well. We’re going to Dambulla tomorrow, a little earlier than usual. Normally we go about two to three days before a game, but even for us, the conditions in Dambulla are fairly new, so we do need to plan ahead,” explained the Lankan Coach.

As far as any possibilities of the Asia Cup hangover went, Hathurusingha had his sights firmly set on the challenge ahead and assured the team would be well-prepared.

“We have taken certain lessons from the Asia Cup, but the conditions and the opposition are going to be different [for this series]. For our overall development, we have taken some measures, but it’s not particularly because of what happened there (in the UAE).

Head table (from left): JAT Holdings Managing Director Aelian Gunawardene, Sri Lanka Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha, Sri Lanka Captain Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley De Silva, England Limited Overs Captain Eoin Morgan and England Head Coach Trevor Bayliss

 “As I have said before, we have prepared well, even before the Asia Cup – of course we didn’t execute those plans, but we have been preparing really well for this series.”

As for England, the team arrive in the country on the heels of ODI and Test series wins over India. They’re also at the tail end of a development cycle, which has seen them play an aggressive and exciting brand of cricket. 

According to England Captain Eoin Morgan, the challenge of playing in the subcontinent and in different conditions will hold them in good stead for the World Cup next year.

 “I think everywhere we travel and everywhere we play presents different challenges. I also think trying to apply our game plan around the world presents different kinds of pressures and different challenges within our group.

“It’s something I think over the last few years that we’ve done well as a team, and it’s helped us grow as a side. Certainly, last winter’s away against New Zealand and Australia, we played in all types of conditions; some extremely challenging, and some where we felt at home, too. So, I think Sri Lanka will present challenges like that.”

Sri Lanka will face England in five ODIs and a one-off T20I before ending the tour with a three-match Test series. The first ODI will be a day/night game and take place in Dambulla on 10 October. 

Pix by Shehan Gunasekara