Jayawardene confident of World Cup glory

Profiles / Editor / 25 April 2007 / Leave a Comment

said World Cup finalists Sri Lanka would not fear either Australia or South Africa when the Caribbean showpiece reaches its climax on Saturday in Barbados.

The Sri Lankan captain led by example as his 115 secured his country an 81-run victory over New Zealand in Jamaica on Tuesday.
"If you're going to win the World Cup you might as well beat the best so whoever comes along I'm sure our guys are confident enough," said Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka had suffered an early blow with the loss of star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya for a single run but steadied their nerves to post 289-5, with Muttiah Muralitharan taking four wickets to overtake Australia veteran Glenn McGrath as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps as New Zealand fell short on 208 all out.

Spin king Muralitharan is trading at 2.26 to finish the World Cup as the top wicket-taker, while McGrath is still the favourite at 2.04.
Jayawardene was delighted with the professionalism shown by his countrymen, adding: "We've been playing some really good cricket but the most important thing was for us to turn up for this game and stick to the basics, to bowl in good areas and bat in partnerships," he said.
"Even though it was a big game it was still a game of cricket, and all credit to the guys. We knew all about New Zealand and it was a tough game for us."

Sri Lanka can be backed at 2.88 to win the tournament in the West Indies, with Australia trading as the favourites at 2 to claim an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup and South Africa available at 6.2.