World champions Sri Lanka who lost to England by a margin of 36 runs on Sunday, August 16 1998 will play in the finals on Thursday, August 20 at the Mecca of Cricket - Lord's. This is good news for all Sri Lankans.
The game on August 18, Tuesday between SA and England will be of mathematical interest for both teams. If England wins against South Africa, they will battle it out with Sri Lanka without much hassle or else, mathematics will come into play. If South Africa wins, the decision who will play in the finals will be on the run rate.
At present South Africa have a nett run rate of minus 1.14 and England a plus 0.72 rate, a situation which is very interesting. For South Africa to play in the finals they must not only beat England but should do so with a nett run rate, more than or equal to that of England for which the match run rate on the 18th should be greater than or equal to plus 0.93. In case South Africa beats England, with a match run rate of less than 0.93, the story will be different.
It is interesting to note that if SA beat England with a match run rate of 0.93 nett run rate, nett run rates of England and South Africa will be equal to minus 0.105 and South Africa will play Sri Lanka based on the first round result against England.
In fact, Sri Lanka's berth in the finals was assured when they scored 190 runs in the game against England on August 16 although they lost.
If Sri Lanka got out for 190 in the match against England, the nett run rate of SL after the two matches would be zero, while South Africa and England would have had their run rate, prior to their encounter at minus 1.14 and plus 1.14 respectively, which indicates that SA has to beat England on August 18 with an effective match run rate of 1.14 to get into the finals. If they win with an effective match run rate less than 1.14 England will be in the finals.
Well of course, I wracked your brains with all mathematical calculations, which I am sure you will never enjoy!
To begin with what happened to Sri Lanka against England on Sunday 17 at Lord's ?
There is a big difference between a test match and a one-day limited over game. In one-day games, sometimes technique does not play an important role, what matters is how many runs you get, or how you restrict a batsman.
Sri Lanka winning the toss invited England to bat first. Although, they scored 223 for 4 wickets, at one stage, seven (7) English wickets tumbled for 35 balls, and Sri Lanka restricted England to 247 in 49.3 overs, which is undoubtedly a very creditable achievement, on the part of Sri Lankans.
Sri Lanka's fielding was not upto the mark, in this match. In any type of cricket half chances should be taken. Hick top scored with a fluent 86 and Jayasuriya returned best figures 10-0-36-3. The exceptional fielding performance witnessed against SA were not produced by Sri Lanka except Marvan Atapattu in their game against England.
Unfortunately Haturusinghe and Arnold did not live upto expectation. I feel, that Upul Chandana, Mahela Jayawardana or Hashan Tillekaratne would have been a better combination.
Sri Lanka's target was 248 - 4.96 per over - A possible one considering the Sri Lankan batting line-up.
The last occasion that Sri Lanka met England was on March 9, 1996, at the Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad, when Sri Lanka won by five wickets in their World Cup quarter finals. I still remember how Sanath Jayasuriya blasted, Martin, Gough, Reeve, Illingworth and Defreiatas, to pieces, when he scored 82 runs in 44 balls with 13 boundaries and three sixers. The other opener Kaluvitarana scored eight runs in three balls with two fours, when the first wicket fell at 12 runs. A fruitful 101 - runs partnership with Asanka Gurusinha (45 runs - 63 balls with 5 fours) laid a solid foundation for a Sri Lankan victory.
But last Sunday things were quite different. In chilly climatic conditions, both openers Sanath and Romesh failed. England paceman, Gough, Martin, Mullaly and Austin, seaming the ball well, bowling wicket to wicket, and destroyed all hopes of a Sri Lankan victory.
Seam bowling is a style well adapted to conditions often found in England - a damp, overcast atmosphere. English wickets are mostly tailor - made for seamers. Conditions on this day helped the high-riding Englishmen to topple the feared World Champions Sri Lanka. All credit should go to England for their noteworthy performance.
Gutty cricketer, Kumar Dharmasena, who always put country before self battled extremely well and saw them pass the 190-run mark, which enabled Sri Lanka to enter the finals. Dharmasena fighting 33 runs in 73 balls, Suresh Perera (17) Pramodhya Wickramasinghe (18) Muralitharan (18) helped Sri Lanka to enter the finals.
England is not the same side we saw in the 1996 World Cup competition. Under the able leadership of Alec Stewart, and with new blood in the team, it's a powerful combination. Their pace trio is good, man-to-man, Sri Lanka is a much superior side, but, in this funny game of limited over cricket, the side that fares better on the given date is bound to win. Arjuna Ranatunga, is undoubtedly the most seasoned campaigner in the world cricket circuit. Added to this advantageous position Sri Lanka poses the batsman of world-class Aravinda de Silva - we must not forget the fact, Lord's is Aravinda's pet hunting ground. Further, Sri Lanka can boast of the best off-spinner in the world - Muralitharan.
The finals on August 20 at Lord's will undoubtedly a memorable one. If Sri Lanka strikes Gold, they will be richer by 15,000 sterling pounds - approximately 1,597,500 Sri Lankan rupees.