De Silva looking for Sri Lanka improvements ahead of second test
28/08/2024
Lords cricket ground, London, UK
28/08/2024
Lords cricket ground, London, UK
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00:00I think I haven't finalised it with the selector, so I think maybe in an hour maybe I'll get
00:26the team. Sorry about it.
00:28How confident are you feeling after Manchester? There's no Mark Wood for England, the weather
00:33is going to be hot. Do you feel you have a good chance here?
00:36Of course, we gave a good fight, but that's not enough. I think we have to be a bit more
00:44accurate with our plans, so I think if the plans work here, we'll get on top.
00:50How relieved are you that Mark Wood isn't bowling at you at 90 miles an hour?
00:55I'm not concerned about that. The speed, not troubling me, but the line and length.
01:03Like the opening bowler, he's bowling one area 20-30 balls every time, so that's the problem
01:14we have with the swinging ball, not the pace.
01:17Sri Lanka have never won a Test match at Lourdes, you could make history, what would it mean
01:21to you if you could do that, and how confident are you about winning here?
01:25Well, you know, it's all about the win at the end of the day, but it's either in Manchester
01:33or in Lourdes, or either in the world, it doesn't matter. A win is a win everywhere.
01:38I take your point, captain, but to win here at Lourdes, I mean, so many overseas players
01:44always talk about wanting to play at Lourdes, and Sri Lankan history now goes back, what,
01:4940 years here, so many draws, still not a win. It would surely mean a lot to the country,
01:54wouldn't it, to win a Test match here?
01:56Yes, of course. It will be in record books after that if we win this match, but I'm thinking
02:03about the Test championship, not about the winnings and everything, but yes, if we win
02:08it's a win, I said earlier, anyway, it's a win.
02:12You must feel more confident now than you did before Old Trafford, wouldn't you?
02:16Well, I was confident in Old Trafford also, I got a pretty good balance side, but we couldn't
02:22deliver our best in Manchester, hopefully in this match, yes.
02:26Because you warmed up, and also the sky is a bit warmer.
02:30Yes, another plus point for us, yes.
02:33What will be your main plan about winning this Test match?
02:36Well, I said earlier, we have to be accurate in our plans when we're executing our plans,
02:41either it's batting or bowling. We have to bring our game into the first innings, either
02:46batting or bowling, so that's the point we missed in the first match, I think, in Manchester.
02:51We haven't done better in the first innings, you know, while batting and bowling, and we
02:55have to bring it into the first inning here.
02:59Thank you very much.
03:00Hi, Dhananjay, there's talk that Pathum may come into the side tomorrow, obviously hasn't
03:06played a Test for two years and has grown hugely as a white ball player since.
03:11How good is it having him around the squad?
03:14How much have you been impressed by his growth as a player, watching him up close over the
03:17past couple of years?
03:19Yes, as you said, he's improving day by day and his stats are talking, you know, rather
03:25than the others. But, yes, if he comes into the side, it will be good for me and the team
03:32as well. I think if he can get the runs quickly and if he can get a big hundred, it will be
03:38good.
03:40And the bowlers had a hard workout at Old Trafford in cold conditions that they aren't
03:45used to. How fresh are the guys feeling and how pleased were you with the effort they
03:48showed up there?
03:50Well, the effort was good, you know. I never blamed for the effort. But, yes, as you said,
03:54it was windy and cold and, yes, you know, sometimes the wicket doesn't help for us as
04:01well. But, yes, they put up a good fight and, you know, in the second innings especially
04:06with the dry wicket, cold conditions, they bowled pretty good areas. As I said earlier,
04:11we have to get that game plan to the first innings and put the English best man under
04:16pressure.
04:18And last from me. A test tour to England is pretty rare for Sri Lanka these days. Getting
04:23to play at Lourdes is obviously a great opportunity to show your staff. How excited are the team
04:27feeling about tomorrow and the weekend?
04:29Yes, pretty excited. You know, I think we haven't had a three-match series for a long
04:35time. But we had it in 2016 maybe last, I can't remember.
04:402018.
04:42Yes, it's good, nice and, you know, playing in these conditions, challenging for the best
04:47man, so, yes, it's pretty exciting.
04:49Perfect, thanks.
04:52Dhananjaya, in the first stage, second innings, you didn't keep a chance, you kept a result.
04:58How do you keep a record in this match?
05:02We haven't finalised it yet, so I can't give you the details yet. I think, as I said,
05:08the team will be out of the game in a couple of weeks.
05:11How are the preparations going? How is the team spirit going?
05:23The preparations are good. We have been practising for the last three days.
05:35How is the team spirit after the last test?
05:40The team spirit is still the same.
05:45What do you have to gain from this match?
05:53As I said earlier, we batted well in the second innings and scored well in the third.
05:57We have to get those plus points.
05:59So, as I said, we have to get those plus points and perform well in the first innings.
06:03Otherwise, the second innings won't be easy.
06:05If we do well in the first innings, we can pressure the English team.
06:11Do you have a chance to play in the first test match?
06:23As I said, we haven't finalised it yet, so I can't give you the details yet.
06:41The possibility of boosting match fees for nations outside the big three has been announced.
06:45How big a difference do you think that might make for a country like Sri Lanka?
06:49I don't know about it. I just heard about it.
06:54The ball change at Old Trafford worked quite a bit in England's favour.
07:02Have you discussed with match officials ahead of this game
07:07or tried to make sure that nothing like that happens here?
07:12I can't say that. It may happen again, but I can't say that.
07:17I spoke with the match referees and umpires, but they had their chance.
07:22Their ball seemed a little bit out of shape, so I think that's the point.
07:29They had to change the ball. We tried, but we haven't got the chance.
07:34How's Dinesh Chandamal?
07:38He's good. He's batting at the nets.
07:40Is he fit to keep wicket as well?
07:43That's the point I have to think about again. I can't take that risk.
07:48As for now, he'll be keeping.
07:51What are the other decisions that you've got to make around the team?
07:57You're asking the team?
08:00I'm asking what other decisions you've got to make.
08:04As far as I'm concerned, we'll go with seven batters, three seamers and one spinner.
08:15With the ball change, do you think the umpires responded in the same way
08:20when you brought it up to when England brought it up?
08:22They were consistent?
08:24They had their chance with the ball, so we haven't got that chance.
08:27What do you mean by that?
08:28The seam was slightly out of shape of their ball, as they said to me.
08:32But our ball hasn't changed that much.
08:35So when England were bowling with it, it changed?
08:38Yeah, that's what they said.
08:40Is that what you think?
08:42That's what umpires said.
08:48Dinesh Chandamal said last week that he'd like to play county cricket at some point in the future.
08:53Do you think that would be beneficial for your team
08:56if some more of your players had the opportunity to play county cricket?
08:59Yes, of course.
09:01Playing in these conditions will be better for the batsmen.
09:05We're only getting a chance while we're touring here,
09:08but if the batsmen can play the county cricket, it will be nice for them.
09:13What about you personally? Is that something you'd like to do in your career?
09:16Yes, of course.
09:19Dhanan, do you think you'd like to play for the Pethum Nisang team?
09:26Or do you think you'd like to give Kusala Mendis a chance?
09:34How do I answer that?
09:36Yes, overall, I think the Pethum Nisang players are doing well in Sri Lanka.
09:45I don't think there's a difference between them and the S1 and T20 teams.
09:49They have a good mind and good technique.
09:52They can adjust to the conditions.
09:54I think if we can bring them to our team, it will be a huge help.
09:59Can you give the boss a chance?
10:02If I have the time, I can do that.
10:16Dhananjaya, is there a difference between the way the Sri Lankan team plays
10:22and the way the England team plays?
10:25Is there a difference between the first and the last game?
10:29Yes, there is a difference.
10:31As you can see, there is a difference.
10:34The Sri Lankan team has a lot of talent.
10:39The England team has a lot of speed.
10:42I don't want to say it's because we lost.
10:45I think we tried our best.
10:48As I said before, if we don't execute according to our plan,
10:53we won't have a chance to win the match.