We played poorly in conditions that suited us – Coach Ratnayake

Wednesday, 12 March 2025 02:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reflects on Sri Lanka’s 2-0 WODI loss to New Zealand

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka Women’s cricket team Head Coach Rumesh Ratnayake

Sri Lanka lost a good opportunity of expressing themselves better than they did in the three WODIs against New Zealand which they lost 2-0.

The defeat came on the back of a 2-1 win against New Zealand in the last ODI series played against them at home in 2023.

“Usually when Sri Lanka comes to New Zealand they are up against the cold weather and seaming and swinging conditions, but not so this time. No excuse, the conditions were ideal for our cricketers with the sun on their backs but they played poorly. It was disappointing that the girls didn’t make use of good conditions to put up a better performance,” said Head Coach Rumesh Ratnayake.

“There was a sense of negativity in their approach. They didn’t play their best cricket. The conditions didn’t have anything to do with the performance. It was quite disappointing. The girls are disappointed they didn’t come out with the potential they had.”

“Our preparations were good back home. We thought we would have bouncy tracks and seaming conditions and all that, but it was not so. It was good conditions but bad execution of skill.” Only one drop batter Harshitha Samarawickrama stood head and shoulders above her teammates scoring back to back fifties in the first two WODIs with no support forthcoming from the rest.

“She was our standout player. She batted extremely well. We know that just one person cannot win a match. For us to have a good game you must have at least 3 batters going on and at least four bowlers bowling well. The consistency needs to be there. What we did not have was the sustenance of having those long innings,” said Ratnayake.

Once again the spotlight fell on the Captain Chamari Athapaththu who failed to get going in any of the three matches being dismissed for scores of 9, 11 and 5.

“Chamari is a huge cog and when she does well our chances are much better. But we have won matches without her contribution. Our challenge is to make sure when she fails the others come through. Our preparation is all about that. Most of the time, prior to a tournament or series we try to simulate that,” said Ratnayake.

Although Athapaththu played 8 matches in New Zealand’s franchise T20 tournament for Northern District Women in the Women’s Super Smash in January, the experience she gained playing in New Zealand conditions, she has not been able to translate it into runs in the recently concluded WODI series.

“Today we did something very specific in the nets, we showed Chamari her negativity and took a technical aspect of her bat pathway and worked on a few things at the nets. Hopefully, that goes into her head. She is also a human being, she needs to get her confidence back. She got out to newcomer Bree Illing twice, succumbing to the bouncer. Things were looking good for her in the third match when she got out but not in the same manner as the first two matches,” said Ratnayake.

“The girls are really distraught but still it is good to be distraught for a moment of time. Then you have to put your head up and come back. It is a situation for them to bounce back in the WT20Is. Our responsibility mostly is making their heads strong and giving them the confidence needed to go through this period of time so that they can come back.”

The three-match WT20I commences at Christchurch on Friday.

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