August 29, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 15, 1428

COLOMBO, Aug 28: Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has expressed confidence over his team’s chances at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

“If we play to our strengths and work hard, there is no reason why we should not succeed in a game which is largely a new one to us,” Jayawardene said at an ICC conference call.

However, Jayawardene indicated his preference for Test cricket.

“It is the ultimate goal,” he said, “but these other forms of the game are exciting as well.”

Jayawardene admitted his side were short on experience when it comes to Twenty20 cricket.

“We have only been playing for two years and countries like England have been playing a lot longer, so they have to be favourites,” he said. “But if we have our game plans – our different strategies – and if we stick to them and execute them properly there is no reason why we should not go all the way.”

Jayawardene believes Sanath Jayasuriya will be a key figure for Sri Lanka at the top of the batting order, but feels his bowlers can succeed in the format.

“Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan – they are all wicket-takers in all forms of the game, and taking wickets up front in this format is particularly vital,” he stated. “If a side lose quick wickets in a Twenty20 game there is very little time to recover. So bowlers will be a key part.”

He also suggested that Twenty20 may not necessarily become a specialists’ game, saying: “When one-day cricket was just beginning, there was a school of thought that Test players would not necessarily make good one-day players and this is still the case in many instances. But there are exceptions and I expect the same will apply to Twenty20 cricket.”—Agencies