Pata
04-19-2007, 10:59 PM
By Paresh Soni
BBC Sport in Grenada
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes pace bowlers Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando will be fit for the World Cup semi-finals.
The duo missed the final Super 8 game against Ireland with ankle problems but Jayawardene insists there is nothing to be alarmed about.
"I reckon Lasith is 90% okay but we didn't want to risk him against Ireland," he explained.
"I'm sure Dilhara will recover in another couple of days' time."
He added: "It is not very serious, although he has had this problem for a long time."
Malinga, who took 15 wickets in the first six games, has missed the last three matches, but Jayawardene believes he will be firing on all cylinders in Jamaica on Tuesday, with New Zealand the likely opponents.
"We have a few more days, almost a week, before our next game. He bowled 10 overs in the nets in the morning with no problem so we want to make sure he gradually comes back up," he explained.
"We don't want him, after doing a lot of hard work to get back to full fitness, to take too many risks but he should be ready to go in the semi-finals."
Some critics have suggested that Sri Lanka could come unstuck in the closing stages of the competition with the surface at Sabina Park and Barbados, which hosts the final, likely to be lively.
But Jayawardene insists his team can play on different types of tracks.
"We love bouncy wickets as much as any other cricketers in the world," he added.
"Our batsmen love to play on tracks where the ball is coming on to the bat - it's very difficult to score when it's not coming on.
"I also think we have a decent bowling attack for those conditions, we just need to go to Jamaica and adjust. We've done that for the whole World Cup and we're quite sure we can do the same in Jamaica."
BBC Sport in Grenada
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes pace bowlers Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando will be fit for the World Cup semi-finals.
The duo missed the final Super 8 game against Ireland with ankle problems but Jayawardene insists there is nothing to be alarmed about.
"I reckon Lasith is 90% okay but we didn't want to risk him against Ireland," he explained.
"I'm sure Dilhara will recover in another couple of days' time."
He added: "It is not very serious, although he has had this problem for a long time."
Malinga, who took 15 wickets in the first six games, has missed the last three matches, but Jayawardene believes he will be firing on all cylinders in Jamaica on Tuesday, with New Zealand the likely opponents.
"We have a few more days, almost a week, before our next game. He bowled 10 overs in the nets in the morning with no problem so we want to make sure he gradually comes back up," he explained.
"We don't want him, after doing a lot of hard work to get back to full fitness, to take too many risks but he should be ready to go in the semi-finals."
Some critics have suggested that Sri Lanka could come unstuck in the closing stages of the competition with the surface at Sabina Park and Barbados, which hosts the final, likely to be lively.
But Jayawardene insists his team can play on different types of tracks.
"We love bouncy wickets as much as any other cricketers in the world," he added.
"Our batsmen love to play on tracks where the ball is coming on to the bat - it's very difficult to score when it's not coming on.
"I also think we have a decent bowling attack for those conditions, we just need to go to Jamaica and adjust. We've done that for the whole World Cup and we're quite sure we can do the same in Jamaica."