March 14, 2003	Friday	Muharram 10, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

EAST LONDON (South Africa), March 13: Sri Lanka will prepare for their final World Cup Super Six match against Zimbabwe with one eye — and perhaps two — on events elsewhere.

World champions in 1996, Sri Lanka are relying on their sub-continental rivals India to beat New Zealand at Centurion on Friday to keep them in the tournament.

An India victory would allow Sri Lanka to snatch the last semifinal spot if they beat the Zimbabweans the following day.

A New Zealand win over India, however, would end Sri Lankan interest once and for all.

Sanath Jayasuriya’s team prepared as normal with nets on Thursday.

“We’ll certainly be watching the game very closely but there’s not much we can do about it. It’s out of our hands,” coach Dav Whatmore said.

Sri Lanka will surely spend Friday afternoon in front of the television at their East London hotel rather than in the nets.

How the Zimbabweans lift themselves for their final game of the tournament, meanwhile, is another difficult question.

Effectively gifted a place in the Super Six by England forfeiting their fixture in Harare and by a washed-out match against Pakistan, the tournament co-hosts have looked jaded and disorganised.

A humiliating seven-wicket defeat to Kenya on Wednesday only served to underline their failure to perform.

Injuries to key players have played a part, but Zimbabwe have beaten only Namibia and Holland, whilst suffering decisive defeats to Australia, India, New Zealand and then the Kenyans.

To make matters more sombre still, Zimbabwe are set to lose their best player for good.

Andy Flower is Zimbabwe’s top run-scorer and has been the fulcrum of the side’s batting for several years but is widely expected to announce that the Sri Lanka match will be his last for his country.

Flower, together with team-mate Henry Olonga, wore black armbands during the team’s first game of the tournament “to mourn the death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.

The team will draw scant comfort from their recent record against Sri Lanka.

Although it has been well over a year since the sides met, the previous six matches all went to Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe’s last win was in Harare in 1999, at the end of another lost series.

In 27 meetings since the 1992 World Cup in New Plymouth, Zimbabwe have won only five times.

Two meetings and two years ago Chaminda Vaas took a record eight for 19, the only time a bowler has taken eight wickets in a one-dayer, as Zimbabwe were dismissed in Colombo for 38, the second lowest team total of all time.

Meanwhile, Jayasuriya is suffering from tonsillitis but will be available for Saturday’s game.

Sri Lanka manager Ajit Jayasekera said: “We didn’t want him to exert himself (at the nets) because he is recovering from a severe attack of tonsillitis.

“He is currently taking antibiotic injections twice a day.

“It started on the day of the India match (March 10), we had to call a doctor and he took an injection that morning before the game.

“We do expect him to be available for Saturday’s game.”—Reuters