Sri Lanka look to finish on a high

Sri Lanka need runs from the bat of Harshitha Samarawickrama

• Biggest fear is not the opponent but the weather

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s biggest fear in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is not their opponents, but the foul weather that has eaten into the majority of matches played at Colombo’s R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium and threatens their final match against Pakistan today.

Following their win against Bangladesh played at Navi Mumbai, Sri Lanka will be keen to finish off the tournament on a high with a win. But standing in their way is not Pakistan, but the fickle weather.

That even some play and results were possible in the matches played in Colombo was due to the hard-working band of boys who man the covers at the R. Premadasa Stadium. The swiftness with which these boys get the entire ground covered when it rains, and ready for play when it ceases, has won them worldwide acclaim from international teams, cricket commentators, and cricket officials.

The South African women’s team, led by Laura Wolvaardt, paid a fitting tribute to the ground staff with a round of applause after they won their rain-hit match against Pakistan on Tuesday. The game had several stops, but thanks to the ground staff, who did a magnificent job, a minimum of 20 overs was possible to effect a result. The result enabled South Africa to register their fifth win on the trot and go to the top of the table.

South Africa were the only team to get two results from the two games they played in Colombo (against Sri Lanka and Pakistan).

“They should really get a raise,” said South African all-rounder Sunne Luus. “They’ve been working tirelessly to get us to the park today and in the previous game as well. So I think we’re the only team that didn’t get a rain-affected or washout game, so kudos to them.”

Sri Lanka’s top-order batter Harshitha Samarawickrama said that the team was well prepared for their final match following their win against Bangladesh.

“After winning the previous match, everyone in the team is in a good mindset and well prepared for tomorrow’s game with the same mentality,” Samarawickrama said at the pre-match press conference.

It was the bowlers who contributed towards Sri Lanka’s first win of the tournament against Bangladesh, but Samarawickrama said that the batters were determined to put their best foot forward against Pakistan.

“After that match, during our team meeting, we discussed how we can contribute more as batters. The captain, coach, and all of us spoke about it. We’re hoping to show our best skills in tomorrow’s match.”

One of the key failures in Sri Lanka’s batting has been Samarawickrama’s inability to contribute big. She has been dismissed for scores of 29, 33, 26, 13, and 4.

“I managed to get a start in three games but couldn’t go on to make a big score. I think that was due to some poor shot selections in certain situations. I’ve worked on that in practice sessions and discussed it with the coaches. I’ve made some adjustments, and I hope to play well tomorrow.”

The R. Premadasa Stadium pitch is renowned for helping spinners, but with the constant rains, it has offered some assistance to the fast bowlers as well.

“We’ve observed how the games have gone here. There’s been help for the pacers as well. We’ve studied the wicket carefully and are preparing to adjust our game according to the conditions,” said Samarawickrama.

With only one win and four points from six matches, Sri Lanka’s chances of making it to the semi-finals are rather slim and have to depend on other results to come their way. A win against Pakistan could see them finish at least fifth in the final standings.