COLOMBO, Sept 15: Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya says his side will play “serious” cricket against Holland in their pool four Champions Trophy clash Monday.

A victory for the 1996 World Cup champions is regarded as a formality against the Dutch, who have lost all five One-day Internationals they have played in.

The hosts are virtually assured of a semifinal place in the 12-team tournament, having thrashed their main group rival Pakistan by eight wickets on Thursday.

Their virtually unknown rivals qualified for next year’s World Cup in South Africa by winning last year’s ICC Trophy in Canada, but facing Sri Lanka will be a totally different experience.

“I don’t want to take any chance,” Jayasuriya said after a practice session on Sunday.

“It’s one-day cricket. We have to play seriously. They may have just started playing, but we can’t take such sides lightly.”

Jayasuriya was barely back to full fitness after dislocating his shoulder when he hammered his 13th one-day hundred in the Pakistan win, and he said it still felt painful.

“I feel much better after using the ice-pack and working with the physio,” he said.

The only luxury Jayasuriya will afford himself is not having to bowl in order to be fully fit for a near certain semifinal showdown against world champions Australia on Sept 27.

Sri Lanka will make one change from the previous game, with off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena replacing leg-spinner Upul Chandana.

The unheralded Dutch players will not be overawed by their formidable opposition, according to skipper Roland Lefebvre, the 39-year-old former Somerset and Glamorgan all rounder.

“It’s a very, very important game. We want to show the world we can play decent cricket,” he told Reuters.

“We realise playing against sides like Sri Lanka is going to be extremely difficult. They are professionals, we’re amateurs.

“What is important for us is to keep things simple, just go out there tomorrow and enjoy the whole occasion.”

Holland played in the 1996 World Cup, but their only notable effort came from Sussex batsman Bas Zuiderent, who hit 54 against England as a 19-year-old.

Teams:

Sri Lanka (likely): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Pulasti Gunaratne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando.

Netherlands (from): Roland Lefebvre (captain), Daan van Bunge, Jacob-Jan Esmeijer, Victor Grandia, Feiko Kloppenburg, Tim de Leede, Henk-Jan Mol, Robert Oosterom, Adeel Raja, Edgar Schiferli, Reinout Scholte, Nick Statham, Luuk van Troost, Bas Zuiderant.—Reuters