da apostebet： Dav Whatmore National Coach During the last 12 months we have started to see a very encouraging trend:Sri Lanka are playing their best one-day cricket in the biggest games
da spicy bet： Dav Whatmore08-Aug-2001Dav Whatmore
National CoachDuring the last 12 months we have started to see a very encouraging trend:Sri Lanka are playing their best one-day cricket in the biggest games. Thispattern was once again evident in the Coca-Cola Cup where Sri Lanka reservedtheir finest performance for the final.In fact, it is no coincidence that we are winning crucial one-dayencounters. Sri Lanka won the final because our players were able to copewith the extra pressure of the occasion. Amidst all the hype and in front ofa sell-out crowd we remained focused on the cricket.When you play finals its important to remember that essentially it’s still agame of cricket. You have to continue to do the things that got you to thefinal. Instead on focusing on the result or the occasion you have to get togrips with the basic processes that create success.Thus, we have a saying that “you cannot cope with pressure by focusing onpressure.” We focus instead on the basics. In this case, on the need toavoid run outs and reduce extras.Sounds simple, but its not. The ability to absorb pressure and channel onesenergies on the cricket is a skill that cannot be picked up overnight. That’s why I’m so pleased that this side appears to be getting to grips with it.India, on the other hand, are the opposite. Their recent record in finalshas been poor – this was the eighth final that they have lost in succession.We were well aware of this track record and realised that they couldstruggle if we grabbed the initiative right from the beginning.Even so, we were well aware that they were coming into the final after threewins in a row. The magnificent innings of Virender Shewag against NewZealand showed just how dangerous they could be.In the field they looked edgy after the fine start made by Sanath Jayasuriyaand Avishka Gunawardene and we controlled the game thereafter.Chasing 295 was never going to be easy – the highest score ever chasedsuccessfully at Premadasa was 243. Nevertheless, we all saw Shewag’s 69-ballhundred and have the utmost respect for the other Indian batsmen.It’s very difficult though chasing a large score. Sometimes the pressure onyou to score quickly creates dangerous expectations. You feel thatboundaries are necessary and forget the basics. In essence, you startrunning before you can walk.We made a dream start with Russel Arnold running out Shewag in the secondover and Sourav Ganguly cutting straight to backward point next ball. Afterthat we put the ball in the right places and caught our catches.Our first goal in the tournament had been to reach the final and we had theadvantage of securing a place early on. Although you obviously want to winall the games there is no doubt that the players can relax a little when youqualify early. You are also protected against a dip in form or provided withan opportunity to try different players.India, however, had their backs to the wall after three successive defeats.They had three difficult games, with the last one being a very toughsemi-final that must have been mentally exhausting. With just two days leftto recover for the final they may not have had enough petrol in the tank.Looking back over the entire tournament the highlight for me, apart fromsome outstanding individual performances, was the success of the three fastbowler-six batsmen policy, which we used throughout. The new formation,however, still needs fine tuning, as we need to work out how to use it theextra seamer most effectively.Finally, the performance of New Zealand deserves a special mention. I thoughthey were very unlucky, as they acclimatised to the tropical conditionsquickly and played some very good one-day cricket. With Chris Cairns waitingin the wings they have the makings of a very impressive side.Time now to turn our minds to the forthcoming Test series against India. It’s going to be tough with three games in just 20 days, but lets hope we canreplicate our Coca-Cola Cup success.
