Mahela Jayawardene: Since winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1996 the sport has been at the heartbeat of the nation
- Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene previews the Lions’ campaign in England and Wales
- Jayawardene reflects on Sri Lanka’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup win back in 1996 and how it impacted in the country
It is going to be fascinating to follow Sri Lanka in the ICC Cricket World Cup and I am very excited to see what they can do. It’s time for the cricket to take centre stage and Sri Lanka always thrive on the big occasion.
I don’t think the build-up has been great, a lot of changes have taken place and it has been disrupting - the selectors have changed and the captaincy has been passed around a bit.
Fortunately, this is nothing new for Sri Lankan cricket and it is a given that things are never settled for a big tournament. That’s just the way it is.
But the team always manages to deal with it and do well regardless, so I am hopeful it will be the same this year. If England or Australia had suffered this level of disruption I am not sure how they would react, but for Sri Lanka it’s quite normal.
Admittedly, the turnaround has been quite drastic this time and we have a new captain who has not played much one-day cricket in the last four or five years in Dimuth Karunaratne.
But we also have lots of experience, like Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews. Angelo is back from injury and his presence is a huge plus. The side will be much better with him in it, he’s a calming character.
When you look at the squad, the experienced guys are the match-winners so that heaps the responsibility onto them but I think they will cope.
I know Sri Lanka will fly under the radar again but make no mistake, there are players here who can win matches and take the game away from any side in the world.
The only thing they lack is big-match experience. Most of the guys have not played in big tournaments before and some others have not been part of the group for a while.
There are questions. How do they fit into the team? What role will each individual have?
They do need to hit the ground running and start well. Given what Sri Lanka have done in the past, expectations are always high at home. The public will want them to go all the way.
But if we are realistic, the semi-finals would be very good.
Everyone at home will be watching. There is a real push for the team to do well, especially in light of the terrorist attacks on our country last month. The ICC Cricket World Cup will hopefully bring a feel-good factor back to the country.
Ever since our win in 1996, the national team has been the heartbeat of the nation. That win was amazing. It was the turning point for Sri Lankan cricket and showed they could be a force.
I was a teenager and made my debut the year after so it made a huge impact on myself and others who played for Sri Lanka. We felt we belonged at the top table, that we could beat anyone and win again.
It has not happened yet but you never know – make a strong start, reach the semi-finals and we could do it again.