Is the ‘will to win’ enough to create an upset?
At the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2013 held in India, Sri Lanka finished overall fifth, after recording three wins, including two upsets. The Lankan women beat top ranked England in a pool match, which was a major upset in Women's ODI history, and as underdogs, went on to beat India.
Later they would move on to the second round, only to lose all three games against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, who meets Sri Lanka again in the fifth place playoff only to lose the game by 88 runs.
The coincidence of what happened in 2013 and what would the Lankan lasses come out with at the upcoming ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Championship is the team’s coach Harsha de Silva. De Silva, a coach who believes firmly on the phrase 'action speaks louder than words', has very little to prove of his capabilities.
But how he will navigate his team in the approaching 10-team world event, where Sri Lanka will play alongside Group ‘A’ rivals Australia, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh, will be an anxious episode, even a non-admirer of women's cricket, would anticipate.
“As a coach I would expect my team to win the competition. But we also must be realistic and treat every game with high importance in a tricky version like the Twenty20. We have come a long way during the past 18 months, and I'm sure there will be some unexpected outcomes and moments coming up,” de Silva told reporters prior to the women's team's departure to the land down under.
During ICC world events earlier, Sri Lanka women have seldom made an impression or qualified beyond the group stage except for a few occasions as the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2013. But the past few months under de Silva’s guidance have been an optimistic period for the Lankan women’s squad, which mainly consists of young players and school leavers.
“I guess we have picked this team looking at the future. This event will be a good platform for the youngsters to play along with the seniors, who are probably in their final stage. While aiming on winning the competition after a good performance, we must also focus on building the future of women's cricket in Sri Lanka,” de Silva added.
The combination of the current Sri Lanka women’s squad come after a few fruitful bilateral series and a couple of recent Emerging tours, in which the youngsters impressed. The Sri Lanka team lands seven days prior to the warm-up matches of the World T20, to undergo a week-long training session. During the week they will play two games against two regional sides in Perth on February 10 and 12.
On February 14,
Sri Lanka will play their first warm-up game against South Africa, followed by the second game against England on February 16, both in Adelaide. After six days they will move to Perth to take on New Zealand in their opening game. On February 24, Sri Lanka meets Australia, before moving to Melbourne to take on India on February 29. Their final group stage game will be against Bangladesh on March 2.
“A player or two could easily change the game in their team’s favour in a Twenty20, where the opportunity is open for any side. So, for me and my team rankings and ratings is just a number. We will do what we do best on that day and keep our fingers crossed to perform the unexpected,” skipper Chamari Atapattu told reporters.
The ICC world event will be the swansong series of former skipper Sashikala Siriwardene, who has already announced her retirement according to head coach de Silva. Siriwardene is one of the most experienced players in the side besides her successor Atapattu. A veteran of 118 Women’s ODIs and 77 Women’s T20s, Siriwardene has accumulated 2029 runs and claimed 124 wickets in WODIs. Her versatility as a useful allrounder, with 1079 runs and 70 wickets from 77 WT20s, could be vital for Sri Lanka this time.
“As the coach, I would like see the team to win. We have a good combination of batters and bowlers -- pace and spin. Shashikala Siriwardene will retire after this event and I'm sure she will expect to retire on a high note, before handing over the team to the next brand,” de Silva added.
Group ‘B’ will include powerhouse England, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Thailand. After the completion of the group stage games, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which is scheduled to be played on March 5 at the SCG in Sydney. The final, in which Sri Lanka expects to hopefully feature themselves, will be played on March 8 in Melbourne.