da blaze casino： Sri Lanka may have lost in the final in Sharjah but coach Dav Whatmore isfar from downbeat, believing that the team was doing the basics well
Charlie Austin08-Nov-2001Sri Lanka may have lost in the final in Sharjah but coach Dav Whatmore isfar from downbeat, believing that the team was doing the basics well."Unfortunately we could not win it, but I was pleased by the fact that theteam was functioning well as a unit," he said. "I thought the bowling wasgenerally disciplined and the batsmen were getting runs."Sri Lanka were gunning for their third successive Sharjah title but weredefeated by five-wickets by a resurgent Pakistan side. It was first time in18 months that they had slipped up in triangular tournament since Pakistanbeat them in the Asia Cup in May 2000."We can’t win every final," said Whatmore, mirroring the sentiments ofcaptain Sanath Jayasuriya. "Nevertheless, we could have put more pressure onthem if we had been tougher when we batted."Looking back Whatmore believes the turning point may have been their finalgroup game when, against the odds, Pakistan chased a large Sri Lankan scorethanks to centuries from Naveed Latif and Inzamann-ul-Haq."To score 270 in that match, and for them to lose only three wickets chasingit, was certainly hard to take," he admitted. "We dropped a couple ofchances and didn’t field particularly well.""The win gave them confidence and they might have got the feeling that themomentum had turned their way."I am not overly concerned by our loss though. One of our objectives is towin the final, but we did achieve other objectives set."We were playing the kind of one-day cricket that wins you one-day games.The basic principles were adhered to well and I was generally pleased."Sri Lanka blooded two young fast bowlers in the tournament, CharithaBuddhika Fernando and Prabath Nissanka, and when Dilhara Fernando was ruledbecause of a stress fracture in his back, they were forced to burdenadditional responsibility."The two youngsters did a pretty good job," Whatmore said. "Charitha wasmore consistent. His pace was deceptive, his variation was good and, most ofall, I was impressed by how he seemed to be `in control.’ He lookedcomfortable under the pressure.""We saw enough of Nissanka to know that he can be an asset. He now needs tolearn the mental side of fast bowling and a work a bit on his run-up. Weneed to manage him well during the next 12 months."The two youngsters were well led by Chaminda Vaas, who played the role ofsenior pro well, showing great economy and leadership."Whatmore was happy to see Russel Arnold back in the runs: "Russel hardly puta foot wrong throughout the tournament. Mahela (Jayawardene) was alsoexceptional."