Filed under: Cricket, England Cricket, World Cup, ODIs, Sri Lanka Cricket
WORLD CUP QUARTER-FINAL: R PREMADASA STADIUM, COLOMBO MARCH 26, 2011Sri Lanka and England's respective passages through to this quarter-final could not have been more different.
Sri Lanka were serene in their advancement through Group A as they lost just one game and they could have beaten Pakistan to top spot in that group if their match with Australia had not been affected by the rain.
If only England could say their own progress had been that simple.
Andrew Strauss's side dragged themselves past Netherlands, tied with India, lost to Ireland, beat South Africa, lost to Bangladesh then somehow beat the West Indies to qualify.
It has been entertaining but nerve-wracking to say the least from England and the news that spinner Michael Yardy has had to return to the UK after suffering from depression during the tournament ensures England have stayed well and truly in the limelight.
Yet despite their rollercoaster ride, all the evidence suggests that England's perilous World Cup campaign will finally come to a halt in Colombo.
Surely their luck will run out, particularly against a motivated Sir Lankan side desperate to impress their home crowd.
Although, as England have pointed out so many times already, anything could happen in this match.
TWO TO WATCH:
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka): The Sri Lankan genius will retire whenever his country is eliminated from this competition so expect him to be super-motivated. He loves bowling on home turf and will lead from the front as always.
Andrew Strauss (England): England's captain is also England's talisman when times are hard. He knows he will have to produce with the bat and remain calm when the big decisions need to be made in the field.
FORM GUIDE:
Sri Lanka LWDWW
England TLWLW
As one of the co-hosts of the tournament, Sri Lanka were always expected to thrive, particularly because they have a better knowledge than anybody about their spin-friendly surfaces.
A slight hamstring injury for Muralitharan has cleared up which means Sri Lanka will put out their strongest possible XI.
However, despite the confidence in the home side's camp, Sri Lanka's middle order containing the likes of Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera has yet to really fire in this tournament.
England will be confident that if they can get the wickets of Sri Lanka's top order and get into Silva, Mathews and Samaraweera quickly then they will be able to starve the opposition of runs and maybe even bowl them out.
To do that, Graeme Swann will have to again show why he has become one of the world's best spinners over the last two years and the likes of Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett will have to back him up.
England have called Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid into the squad due to Yardy's absence but it seems impossible to suggest Strauss would throw the 23-year-old leg spinner into the match due to its importance.
Rashid's willingness to fly 9,000 miles just to be England's 12th man is impressive but England are unlikely to risk the youngster, meaning James Tredwell will get another chance to impress.
KEY QUOTE: "Leaving at this stage of a World Cup campaign was a very difficult decision to make but I felt that it was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision," Yardy said regarding his depression.
KEY STAT: In eight previous World Cup encounters, England have won six and Sri Lanka the remaining two.
THE LOWDOWN:
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara believes that Muralitharan will provide all the motivation his side needs against England.
This game could be his last if Sri Lanka lose but Sangakkara is determined that will not be the case and insists that his side can beat England to keep Murali's dream alive of retiring by lifting the World Cup.
He said: "He's a guy who rises to the occasion and does really well in big games and the side is very confident about what he can produce for us in important games.
"The guys support each other really well, we play this game for each other and we'll do our utmost to make sure that we do everything we can to win.
"I'm sure they will feel the pressure, they will feel the crowd and they'll lift themselves with that and do well."
England:
In a World Cup that has already contained enough twists and turns to fill a Hollywood thriller, the absence of Yardy has added a poignant - if not distracting - element to England's build up to this match.
The spinner was brilliant in last year's World Twenty20 tournament and played his full part in England's eventual victory but he has struggled in this World Cup and the event has become too much for him to handle.
England have handled the situation in a sensitive manner and quite rightly offered him all the support he needs but in the cold light of day, a situation like this would be the last thing Strauss would want ahead of such a huge contest.
He said: "It's desperately disappointing for him and for us as a squad not to have him here any more.
"It's something he's been managing for a while, and there have been networks in place to help him do that. But over the last week or so, it's got too much for him.
"[But] it's not difficult for us to focus our minds on this game of cricket. It is a massive game.
"If we lose we're on the plane home; if we win we're in the semi-finals."
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/03/25/sri-lanka-v-england-preview-yardys-departure-casts-shadow-over/
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