1st Semi-final
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand
in Jamaica
on Tuesday (24 April, 2007)

ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA (AP) - This World Cup for Sri Lanka has been all about adapting to conditions.
Now it is getting ready to play a semi-final on a bouncy wicket in Jamaica, Sri Lanka feels it is finally getting somewhere that will really suit its play.
Although many sides have said the slow pitches in Guyana, Antigua and Grenada are similar to those in Sri Lanka, captain Mahela Jayawardene is adamant his batsmen prefer the faster track expected at Sabina Park.
“We like bouncy wickets,’’ Jayawardene said. ‘’Like any other cricketers in the world, our batsmen love to play on bouncy tracks when the ball is coming onto the bat.
“Obviously, it’s very hard for batsmen to score runs when it’s not coming on.’’
That wasn’t what stopped Sri Lanka building a big score in its final Super 8s game at Grenada National Stadium on Wednesday.
It bowled out Ireland for 77, the lowest total of any side in this tournament.
Sri Lanka’s batsmen then reached 81-2 with 40 of 50 overs left, Jayawardene hitting 39 from 27 balls, including six fours and a six.
The captain wasn’t concerned that, coming after a seven-wicket loss to Australia when he rested his first-choice bowling attack, his team may be without practice when Tuesday’s semi-final comes around.
“We’ve played enough competitive games. We’ve been playing some really good cricket,’’ Jayawardene said after their eight-wicket win over Ireland. “It was a really good performance because we made sure that we put our foot down.’’
Sri Lanka’s batsmen appear to have managed well on all the tracks they’ve played upon, losing narrowly to South Africa and then to Australia only when it knew it had already reached the semi-finals.
Only Kumar Sangakkara and opener Upul Tharanga seem to be struggling with form. Sangakkara went for 10 against Ireland while Tharanga was out for nought in the first over of his team’s reply.
While Sangakkara’s brilliant wicketkeeping makes him undroppable _ getting rid of Eoin Morgan with an acrobatic one-handed catch to his left _ Jayawardene conceded that Tharanga’s place is under consideration, with veteran Marvan Atapattu a possible replacement.
“That’s something we’ll have to think about,’’ Jayawardene said. “He’s hitting the ball pretty well but he’s just not spending time out there in the middle.”
‘’Marvan is an experienced player in our ranks who can step into the shoes if it’s necessary. We’ll have a chat with the selectors, we’ll have a chat with the senior group and see in Jamaica.’’
Otherwise, Sri Lanka looks to be in pretty good shape for a likely meeting with New Zealand.
Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan returned against Ireland after sitting out the Australia game. Leftarm paceman Vaas took one wicket and star spinner Muralitharan collected 4-19. Farveez Maharoof took 4-25 as he continued to fill in for the dangerous Lasith Malinga.
Malinga has missed three games after straining left ankle ligaments in training but should return for the semifinal.
‘’He’s probably 90 percent OK,’’ Jayawardene said. ‘’We probably should have played him today but we didn’t want to take the risk.
‘’He’s bowled 10 overs in the nets this morning no problems. We just need to make sure he gradually comes up. We don’t want to take too many risks.’’
With Malinga having taken 15 wickets before succumbing to injury and Maharoof in form, Dilhara Fernando, who played against Australia with an ankle problem that required two injections, may struggle to get back in the team even if he is fit.
Having progressed to the semifinals in relative ease, Sri Lanka is now just two wins away from repeating its shock triumph of 1996, when it beat Australia in the final.
‘’The semifinal is a very big hurdle for us to jump. We’re looking forward to it,’’ Jayawardene said. ‘’When we left Sri Lanka these are the targets we set. Getting to the semifinals and looking forward from that.
‘’We’ve come a long way and there’s no looking back for us now.’’

***

Ponting tells South Africa - we’ll be hard to beat
2nd Semi-final
Australia vs South Africa
in St Lucia
on Wednesday
(25 April, 2007)

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (AFP) - Ricky Ponting has warned South Africa that they are facing mission impossible if they think they can beat his Australian world champions in the World Cup semi-finals.
Australia, going for a third successive World Cup title, looked in ominous form when they demolished New Zealand by 215 runs in their last Super Eights game here on Friday after bowling the Black Caps out for 133. Australia will face Graeme Smith’s Proteas in the second semi-final in St Lucia on Wednesday buoyed by clinching their ninth win in nine matches in the Caribbean as well as having defeated South Africa by 83 runs in the first round.
“We are very confident and we will take a lot of beating in that semi-final,” said Australia skipper Ponting whose team piled up 348-6 from their 50 overs.
“We are demonstrating that we are very dominant. We are batting well with some great partnerships and are right on track at the moment. We’re going great.”
Ponting reserved special praise for Matthew Hayden, who hit his third century of the tournament, and all-rounder Shane Watson who returned from a three-match absence with an unbeaten 65 as well as a wicket.
“Shane was tremendous and looked good and Matty is in the best form of his one-day career. It’s great to have him back in the side, he’s dragging a few of us along with him and he’s churning out the runs. I hope he can keep it going.”
Hayden now has 580 runs in the tournament at an average of 82.85.
However, Hayden, who was out of the team last year before fighting his way back into contention, refused to get carried away by his success despite becoming only the third man to make three centuries at a World Cup.
“We have two more matches to go and it all will mean zero if we don’t go all the way,” said the left-hander.
“I have put in a lot of work to get back in the side. You need a lot of dedication to be part of this team. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.”
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, whose team had whitewashed the Australians 3-0 in the Chappell-Hadlee series on home soil in the run-up to the World Cup, was devastated by the loss.
“It was one of our worst performances,” said Fleming.
“Our confidence has been dented a little bit, it was a tough day.”
New Zealand will now face 1996 champions Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Jamaica on Tuesday and will be hopeful that strike bowler Shane Bond, who missed Friday’s game through illness, will be back to fitness
“We had one eye on the Sri Lanka game. We knew it would be tough today especially when we lost Shane. We lost a lot of accuracy with the ball. That has to improve.
“At the top order we have to get off to good starts.”
Fleming also had some advice for South Africa ahead of their semi-final against the Australians.
“You have to be there for 100 overs, we were there for just 10 today. When we played Australia in New Zealand, we were very competitive against them.
“Hopefully we’ll get another opportunity to play them here and I’m sure we’ll put in a better performance.”