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| March 10, 2003 | Monday | Muharram 6, 1424 |
De Silva hopes to make one final point
JOHANNESBURG, March 9: Aravinda de Silva is happy to use the World Cup stage to make his point to the Sri Lankan selectors who barred him from their one-day set-up for almost two years.
De Silva, now 37, is running into a rich vein of form against quality opposition, scoring 73 as Sri Lanka forced South Africa out of the tournament and then 92 in a losing cause against Australia on Friday.
During the innings against the Australians he became only the fifth player to score 1,000 runs in World Cups.
Despite a glittering career that included a match-winning unbeaten hundred against Australia in the 1996 World Cup final, however, de Silva was cast into the wilderness two years ago after a New Zealand series where he averaged 17.25 in four innings.
He only returned to the one-day side in August after agreeing to a challenge from the selectors to improve his fitness.
In July, in his good-bye Test in Colombo, he scored a double century against Bangladesh. He batted with one eye on the World Cup. “I thought I make this innings a fitness session,” he had said.
De Silva — who has played 305 One-day Internationals as well as 93 Tests in a career spanning almost two decades — says his exclusion was the perfect motivation to do well in South Africa, after which he intends to retire.
“I always knew when I was left out that I had another couple of years left in me,” de Silva said on Sunday as he prepared for Sri Lanka’s crucial match against India in Johannesburg.
“They were peak years of my career, lost due to selections. I just had to come out and prove that to everyone.
“That made me work that much harder and really motivated me.
“I don’t think there’s anything else left for me to prove now. I just want to go out there and make sure that I help the youngsters and contribute in any way I can to help the side.”
De Silva already knows what it means to win the World Cup and said there could be no better way to end his career than by being part of a winning team once again at the Wanderers on March 23.
“To win the World Cup for the second time would be the ultimate way to go out. If I could do that I don’t think I could ask for anything else from myself.
“I feel very happy that I was able to win a World Cup. From a cricketer’s point of view you can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The diminutive cricketer said he was undecided as to whether he would retain his links with cricket,
“I’ve got my own company which will keep me busy but the main thing is to spend time with my family. I haven’t decided yet whether I will do any cricket-related work.”—Reuters
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