Sangakkara backs Mr. Angry Dilshan

Pallekele, March 8 (AFP): Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara told Tillakaratne Dilshan to stay angry despite the opener losing out to Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait in an ugly World Cup war of words.

Dilshan and Tait were locked in a furious exchange when the Sri Lankan star edged through the slips for a boundary at the start of Saturday’s abandoned match in Colombo.

He then pulled away from the crease just as Tait went into his delivery stride, before the speedster had his man next ball, courtesy of a slip catch.

“Dilshan has been our best performer over the last few years. He has won us so many games so we just want him to go out and we want him to be focused and keep his aggression,” said Sangakkara.

Dilshan made just four runs against Australia having made 50 in the game with Canada, 41 against Pakistan and 44 against Kenya.

“In cricket you have instances where not everyone shines every day. You always get matches where certain people shine and some don’t,” added the captain.

“I think batsmen go through certain phases. The most important thing at all times in high-performance situations is to maintain equilibrium, make sure that your emotions remain the same at all times.”

Sri Lanka tackle Zimbabwe on Thursday in a crucial Group A game.

Fiery Tait eager for fresh Cup aggression

Bangalore, March 7 (AFP): Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait has said he hopes his dust-up with Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan is the stuff of things to come at the World Cup as he tries to get under the skin of batsmen.

There was time during last Saturday’s Colombo washout for slingshot speedster Tait and the dashing Dilshan to exchange a few heated words.

In the second over of the match, Dilshan edged Tait through the slip cordon for a first-ball boundary, something rarely appreciated by any fast bowler.

“Things kicked off there for a bit,” said Tait, who had his revenge three balls later when he dismissed Dilshan.

“He’s a dangerous player so I thought I’d attack his mind and try and get under his skin a bit and vice-versa, he got under mine.”

“If you start off like that and there’s a few words exchanged it’s nice to get a wicket. It worked out well for me.”

The 28-year-old Tait dropped out of international cricket in 2008 because of repeated injuries and has decided to concentrate on shorter formats in a bid to ensure he still has a professional career.

“It’s been good, the last couple of years have been brilliant.”

“Just playing the shorter form of the game has been a good decision and this World Cup has been great. Any time you play cricket for your country is great.”

“I’ve changed massively. The decision was a good refresher to have a couple of months off. That was a while ago now, so things have been good ever since.”

“This is probably going to be my last World Cup so I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.”