1 November – Mumbai – Sri Lanka Head Coach Chris Silverwood pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
Do you think that the defeat in the Asia Cup will have something to carry before tomorrow’s match?
[Chris Silverwood:]
I would like to think that the defeat in the Asia Cup will add some motivation.
I’d rather hope that the defeat in the Asia Cup would give more motivation to the boys to come out and obviously fight tomorrow, show plenty of spirit and get stuck in to the Indian side. They’re a very good side, we know that, we’ve seen them play some superb cricket this tournament so far. But I think it’s a good opportunity for our boys to show what they’re made of as well. So hopefully, the defeat in the Asia Cup will give motivation to the boys.
[Reporter:]
Playing the host country in conditions here, especially with you being finalists in 2011 and looking at back. How are you motivating the players? Or what is the factor in that?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Well, I think playing in the World Cup obviously against India here as well is motivation in itself. I mean playing for your country is motivation in itself. So I think the players they’re up for the fight. They’re enjoying the tournament. We’ve played some good cricket at times, so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow. We’ve prepped as well as we always do, so the boys are ready. It’s just a case of tomorrow we have to turn up and we have to bring our A game, because we know India and India is a very difficult team to beat.
[Reporter:]
Following the Afghanistan game, how has the team taken that defeat and how are they prepared for tomorrow?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Yeah, I mean, obviously the team, all of us were very disappointed the other night after that result. That’s not to take anything away from Afghanistan. I thought they played superb cricket on the night and showed that they are a progressing team and they’re very capable of beating people. But for us, again, we had a very good chat in the dressing room afterwards, addressed some of the issues that we felt we had and then we’ve come here and we’re trying to put that right in practice now. So, we’ll be ready for tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
During the Afghanistan game also, the middle order didn’t click. Is the form of someone like Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka a concern for the team?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Well listen we know they have bags of experience in their locker and we’ve seen both of them score runs at various points. So, I mean, it’s like any game of cricket, not everybody will perform all the time, but what we do need is people to put their hands up, and at times it’ll be their time to do that as well.
But thankfully we do have a few people that are in form. I mean Kusal [Mendis] has played some super knocks here, Sadeera has been Mr. Consistent, as has Pathum [Nissanka] at the top of the order as well.
[Reporter:]
You’ve played decent cricket for the tournament but you’ve not had results going your way. So, what area do you think is the major main point of concern? Is it your death batting or middle overs bowling? Which area do you think is where you’re losing overall?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Well, I think you’ve mentioned two areas there that we have spoken about.
Obviously power down the bottom so when we do get a good start it’s making sure that we finish innings off strong and obviously push on to big scores, and then taking wickets in the middle phase is something that we’re constantly working on. It’s not easy on good wickets but we have to find a way and we have to find a way of taking those wickets. Otherwise, you’re allowing other people to get big scores, making our lives difficult.
[Reporter:]
What do you think of India’s bowling attack?
[Chris Silverwood:]
If you look at that bowling attack and you watch them operate, it’s a very strong bowling attack. I think any team in the world would want an attack like that, to be honest. But we see that as a great challenge for our guys. We see it as an opportunity to go out and play against the best and see I mean pit ourselves against that – But there’s no hiding it is a very good bowling attack.
[Reporter:]
Sri Lanka have a bit of a history with this ground. They played in the World Cup final in 2011. Are the boys excited to play at a venue where they played a World Cup final?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Yeah, the boys are very aware of the history, to be honest. Obviously, players do talk about past history of their team as well and the results that they’ve had. But I mean, let’s be honest, it’s a great stadium. We walked in today and the first thing you do is go, wow, this is a great place to play cricket. And when you stood out in the middle, you get that sort of goose bumps. So, for me, there’s plenty of things out there to motivate them to go perform in front of what will be a packed house tomorrow as well.
[Reporter:]
Wellalage is in the squad, so what kind of chances do you think he will play tomorrow, based on his role?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Wellalage is a very good young player, we know that, and I think he’s got a very bright future in front of him. But what I’m not going to do is discuss team tactics at this moment in time. Obviously, we’ve got to finalise things before we obviously release that to anyone else.
[Reporter:]
Just wanted to know that coming into this tournament, were you guys aware of the Champions Trophy qualification scenario with Sri Lanka at number 7 in the points table as of now? So, what is your take from that point of view?
[Chris Silverwood:]
We know we have to finish in the top seven or eight, depending on where Pakistan, the host nation are. So that’s something that we’re very aware of and something that we’re aiming to do. It’s not just the World Cup, is this. Obviously, we want to perform to our best of ability in this tournament, but we have to make sure we do so we obviously qualify for the other tournament as well. So, we are aware of it.
[Reporter:]
Any concerns about the weather and the environment in general because Mumbai has been little polluted off late and in a few days’ time you’ll be playing in New Delhi which again the AQI levels are pretty high right now. So, are there any concerns regarding that?
[Chris Silverwood:]
No, listen, we can only play in the conditions that are there, so we have got to prepare for them, make sure we are ready for any conditions that we may come up against.
[Reporter:]
A word on Dilshan Madhushanka, he is playing in his first big tournament obviously. How well has he performed so far in this competition?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Yeah, Dil has been excellent. I think what we’ve seen is he bowls good balls that get good players out. So, I’ve been really pleased with him. This has been coming for a while. We’ve seen him in various other competitions that he’s played in and he’s a very good young bowler. Again, it’s something that we in Sri Lanka are very proud of that we have some very good young players coming through.
[Reporter:]
You mentioned Sadeera is Mr. Consistent. Can you just expand what’s worked for him that hasn’t worked necessarily for some of the other Sri Lankan batters?
[Chris Silverwood:]
There was an article I think written a few days ago about him. And I think what he has done is he’s realized what his game is. He’s learned about himself and what works for him, more importantly. And then now he’s just trying to do that consistently time and time and time again. And I think that’s what all the greats do. If you look at Virat and people like that, they’re just consistent with what they do all the time. I think he’s trying to do that now. I think he’s reaping some rewards from that.
[Reporter:]
Kusal started the tournament as one of the best aggressive batters. I mean, he scored like 10 sixes. But since then, since taking the captaincy, he’s been more cautious. And if you see the Afghanistan game, he was very slow. So, is there anything approachable to anything you discussed? Because we saw him hitting tons of sixes in the practice today?
[Chris Silverwood:]
Yeah, I want them to be aggressive to be honest. I want them to play their game and obviously do things their way but have a positive mindset. It’s a positive option when you take it and I’m encouraging
them to come out of their shell and push back and put pressure back on the bowlers. So, I think that’s what he’s trying to do.