March 9, 2003	Sunday	Muharram 5, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

JOHANNESBURG, March 8: Age obviously hasn’t wearied Aravinda de Silva, the only Sri Lankan batsman who defied Australia’s bowling attack in Friday’s 96-run World Cup loss to the defending champions.

The 37-year-old de Silva reserves his best cricket for the Australians, and did it again at Centurion when he blazed 92 off 94 balls as the inning crumbled around him chasing a mammoth 319 for five.

When all seemed lost, he bludgeoned sixes and fours off Brett Lee after the firebrand fast bowler had snared three wickets to reduce Sri Lanka to 48 for four.

In doing so, he surpassed Mark Waugh and Viv Richards to become the third most prolific batsman in World Cup cricket.

With 1028 runs from 33 matches, he’s behind only runaway leader Sachin Tendulkar (1,533 runs from 29 matches) of India and retired Pakistani Javed Miandad (1,083 from 33).

The longest-serving player in international cricket said he was planning to go out with a bang at this World Cup and, with his 73 against South Africa and his boundary-laced innings against the Aussies, he certainly won’t go out in disgrace.

“I know this is probably my last tour, definitely the last tour overall — I think I’m giving it a go with the best of my ability,” said de Silva, the leading scorer for Sri Lanka in Test and limited-overs cricket.

He went to the crease with the score at 46 for two in the 11th over and lifted the total to 203 for eight before he was out trying to lift the run-rate in the 45th. Sri Lanka were all out for 223 three overs later.

The innings did contain some luck.

De Silva survived a strong lbw appeal against Lee and saw Matthew Hayden at point drop a catch off McGrath before opening his account.

“I think we’re a bit disappointed with the team performance, but (Australia) posted a very decent score batting first,” de Silva said.

“It was always going to be tough chasing that sort of total.

“I had to try and push the scoring rate a bit. I decided, OK I’ll take the strike and take some chances.”

He belted nine boundaries and four sixes.

It was the first World Cup clash between the two nations since de Silva’s unbeaten 107 inspired Sri Lanka to an impressive win over the Aussies in the 1996 final at Lahore.

He got four Man-of-the-Match awards in the ‘96 World Cup, as the then minnows upset a string of more-fancies rivals, including India in the semifinals.

De Silva was less successful as Sri Lanka was bundled out in the first round in England in ‘99 and has average dropped to 35 in 305 One-day Internationals as he struggled with fitness.

A regular in the Test and one-day lineups from 1984, he was dropped from the Sri Lankan squad in 2001 when his weight ballooned and his condition deteriorated. But he got back to fitness to earn his recall and has lifted his average to 50 against Australia, a rarity among current international cricketers.

His next target: another big innings against India at Johannesburg on Monday in a match Sri Lanka needs to win to keep its semifinal chances alive.—APP/AP