Can’t be making silly mistakes: Sri Lanka skipper Athapaththu

You know the mood in a team is tense when a pre-match press conference feels like a PTA meeting. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu minced no words as she lay bare the errors her side made against India in their campaign opener in Guwahati a few days ago ahead of a crucial home league game against Australia here on Friday.

The talismanic allrounder said there were no excuses for the batting collapse and unflattering drops in the field in a game she said was one Sri Lanka could have won.

“When we are at a big game like this, we can’t expect to be making such silly mistakes. It lets the team down, it lets the country down. We are all answerable. We are now playing in home conditions, so this tournament is very important for us,” she told reporters.

Up against the best fielding unit in the world, Athapaththu said Sri Lanka needed to bring its A-game.

“No one drops catches intentionally. But this is our profession. We must do it correctly. In this tournament, ranking is just a number. No one can take any team lightly. If we play our best game on our home soil against world champions, we can win this game.”

Australia has long pioneered an aggressive batting style, eyeing consistent 350-plus scores in the format. Athapaththu underlined the need for partnerships and for players to play long innings positively.

“In this format, 30-run scores have no value. Four batters playing in the match must score a hundred or at least above fifty to win the match. At this moment, we can’t say we don’t have experience. Hasini (Perera), Anushka (Sanjeewani), Harshita (Samarawickrama) all have been playing for a while. Vishmi (Gunaratne) is probably the least experienced there but also has quality. And we’re playing at home, not in England or on foreign soil. The selection committee spoke to the player and we’ve had some strong discussions. There is a bit of pressure on the players and it’s important to see how they react. If not, we can’t go on a long journey in this game of cricket,” she added.