Sri Lanka have yet to peak, says Jayawardene

Sri Lanka are still to peak at the World Cup, vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene said on Wednesday, as the 1996 champions prepare to tackle Zimbabwe and book a quarter-final spot.

Sri Lanka go into Thursday's game with five points from four games after wins over Kenya and Canada, a share of the points in a washed-out match against Australia and a narrow defeat at the hands of Pakistan.

Jayawardene believes that Sri Lanka's campaign has been energised by Lasith Malinga's belated entry into the tournament after the slingshot seamer missed the matches against Canada and Pakistan with a back injury.

"Lasith coming back into the team has given us a few more options in our bowling attack which is great," said Jayawardene, of Malinga who took a career-best 6-38 against Kenya.

Malinga also took his second World Cup hat-trick during that match. "I think we can still improve on our batting, try to bat for longer periods and make sure we build partnerships. Even on the field there is always room to improve. We are a very hard-working side when it comes to fielding. We just have to keep improving and make sure we make the most of half-chances."

Jayawardene also warned his team not to under-estimate Zimbabwe who still have an outside chance of making the last eight.

Sri Lanka face a potentially tough last match against New Zealand in Mumbai so they can ill afford any upsets against the African nation.

"We rank Zimbabwe with any other team. I think they are a very good all-round side and we know they can be a surprise package so we are not taking anything lightly," Jayawardene said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka won their first match against Canada by 310 runs before going down to Pakistan by a narrow 11-run margin. They also beat Kenya by nine wickets before their match against Australia was abandoned due to rain.

Jayawardene said Sri Lanka need to be on their toes to win their last two matches. "We just want to concentrate on our performances. That's in our control and we will execute a game plan because we know every team is dangerous and have quality players," said Jayawardene, who hit a century against Canada.

"I think we have been consistent, but still there is room for improvement. I think overall we can be happy. It's a long tournament and it's important that we be consistent and keep improving," said Jayawardene.

Zimbabwe wary of Muralitharan, Malinga threat

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has pinpointed Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga as a double danger when they meet Sri Lanka in the World Cup on Wednesday.

The African nation, who have never beaten Sri Lanka in four previous World Cup matches, need a win to stay in hunt for a quarter-final place from Group A which is topped by New Zealand ahead of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Zimbabwe have two points from their win over Canada while they lost to New Zeaaland and Australia. "It's a very important game as we only have two points. We'll be looking to play our best cricket against Sri Lanka and to do that we need to make a competitive score against their quality bowlers," said Chigumbura.

Chigumbura said Zimbabwe have a plan to tackle off-spinner Muralitharan, who has taken the most one-day wickets, and slinger Malinga who took a career-best 6-38, including a hat-trick, against Kenya.

"Sri Lanka's whole attack has match-winners with Murali and Malinga obviously the big names, they are experienced and they know their conditions well and will use them to the best of their abilities. We have just got to make sure we play them properly and stop them getting wickets, especially in their first spells," said Chigumbura.

Sri Lanka know any upset would leave them in danger of missing out on the knockout phase.

The 1996 winners and 2007 runners-up have five points from four games and need a win to ensure they reach the quarter-finals. They face extra pressure because their last match is away against New Zealand in Mumbai.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara realises the importance of victory over Zimbabwe. "Our focus is on the immediate game so it doesn't really matter where you finish up. You need to beat every single team to get into the final, and to win the World Cup," said Sangakkara, whose team lost to Pakistan and saw their match against Australia abandoned due to rain.

Sangakkara defended his batsmen, especially opener Tillakaratne Dilshan who was involved in a verbal stand-off with Australian pace bowler Shaun Tait where he lost his composure and his wicket.

"In cricket you have instances where not everyone shines every day. You always get matches where certain people shine and some don't," said Sangakkara, who was 73 not out when the rain washed out the Australia match.

"I think batsmen go through certain phases. The most important thing at all times in high-performance situations is to maintain equilibrium, make sure that your emotions remain the same at all times."

"Dilshan has been our best performer over the last few years. He has won us so many games so we just want him to go out and we want him to be focused and keep his aggression," he said.

Sri Lanka are likely to bring in paceman Dilhara Fernando for his first match in the World Cup.

West Indies face never-say-die Ireland

A resurgent West Indies face Ireland in Mohali on Friday knowing a victory could take them to the brink of the World Cup quarter-finals but wary of the challenge posed by the minnows.

The Caribbean side were well beaten by South Africa in their tournament opener but responded by thumping the Netherlands and demolishing co-hosts Bangladesh in Dhaka, bowling them out for just 58.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said he was not getting carried away despite his side's awesome display against Bangladesh, in which fast bowler Kemar Roach took 3-19 to add to his 6-27 against the Netherlands.

Other bright spots in the tournament have been the bowling by giant spinner Sulieman Benn and the potential shown by batsman Darren Bravo. "We are taking it step by step," Sammy said.

The West Indies have four points from three matches in Group B, the same as South Africa but trailing India and England, with the top four sides from each group qualifying.

Sammy said the West Indies, who won the first two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and also ruled Test cricket for two decades, were on the right track to regaining old glories. "We are aware of the history and legacy the West Indies have," the captain said. "We have taken innovative steps to move forward. As a leader I want my team to improve. It is a process."

Referring to the win over Bangladesh, he said: "People back in the Caribbean needed this performance. We look to move forward from here as a team and be as consistent as we can."

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson also urged caution, saying it was too early to talk of a resurgence in West Indies cricket. "There is still a long way to go," Gibson said.

But he added that the team had a good mix of players with Roach "a revelation" and Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul bringing their experience to the side along with explosive batsman Chris Gayle.

Gibson said it was difficult for any total to be considered safe at a high-scoring tournament. "It's a scary thought. Earlier, 320 used to be a good enough total in ODIs. But nowadays things are different. You have seen big scores being chased down," he said.

Ireland's win over England, in which they scored 329-7 to win the game, meant they leapfrogged Zimbabwe in the one-day international rankings, moving into 10th place.

Irish skipper William Porterfield still believes his team can qualify for the quarter-finals despite defeats to Bangladesh and India either side of their staggering win against England.

"We've got three games left and there's no reason we can't beat any of the three teams we're playing," said Porterfield. Ireland are fifth in Group B with two points.

Porterfield said his team's never-say-die attitude would always make them a handful despite the defeat to India in Bangalore on Sunday. Ireland bowled and fielded superbly against India while defending a modest total of 207, reducing India to 100-4 before Yuvraj Singh guided his side home with an unbeaten 50.

Reduced World Cup could see new shocks: Lorgat

Ireland's dramatic giant-killing World Cup win over England could be repeated in future despite a decision to reduce the event to 10 teams, world cricket's top administrator said Saturday.

As there are only 10 Test-playing countries, many second-tier or associate nations such as Ireland fear they could be frozen out by the move.

Ireland created one of the great World Cup shocks by beating England by three wickets in Bangalore on Wednesday, with Kevin O'Brien scoring the fastest hundred in the tournament's history.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said provided there was a "sufficiently robust qualification process", future upsets could still be possible.

"It's a balance we're trying to achieve in top-class competition, the opportunity for developing nations and to have the 10 best teams at the World Cup," Lorgat said.

He said the qualification system would be discussed at the next ICC executive board meeting in April.

"If there is a qualification process that is robust enough, no doubt any team could come through."

"It's not at all related to the question of getting funds from the event. It's the balance we try to achieve between excellent competition and the development of the game."

"We are blessed with three formats. We believe the Twenty20 format is the one we could use primarily to develop the game. We've expanded that to 16 teams."

"We believe that if qualification was the route through to the World Cup, that would make for a far better World Cup from a competitive point of view."

Ireland have just one more ODI, against England in Dublin in August, to play this year after the World Cup. Lorgat said the global governing body had urged the Test elite to pay more attention to those in the second tier.

Taylor stars as New Zealand outclass Pakistan

Birthday boy Ross Taylor's unbeaten century helped New Zealand defeat Pakistan by 110 runs in a Group A match. Taylor celebrated his 27th birthday in grand style as he hit eight boundaries and seven huge sixes en route to his fourth one-day century as New Zealand amassed 302-7 in a Group A match against Pakistan at the new Pallekele Stadium.

Pakistan needed a positive start in their run chase, but Tim Southee and Kyle Mills ensured Shahid Afridi's team were never in the contest and reduced them to 45 for 5 inside 15 overs. Southee dismissed Mohammad Hafeez, who lost a review when he challenged a LBW decision, Kamran Akmal (who had a match to forget) and Misbah-ul-Haq; while Mills accounted for Ahmed Shehzad and Younis Khan. Jacob Oram then got into the act and clean bowled captain Shahid Afridi to leave Pakistan tottering at 66 for 6.

Umar Akmal showed glimpses of his immense potential in his 38, but just when he was looking comfortable at the crease, Nathan McCullum had him caught by Oram at deep midwicket. And, when Abdur Rehman, was also trapped in front by Nathan McCullum with Pakistan 125 for 8, it looked as though New Zealand could bowl out Afridi's team for less than Taylor's 131 not out. But, Abdul Razzaq (62) and Umar Gul (34*) gave Pakistan supporters something to cheer about with their 66-run partnership for the ninth wicket. During his innings, Razzaq became only the fourth player after Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi to complete the double of 5000 runs and 250 wickets in ODIs.

While Razzaq and Gul were in the middle, Pakistan may have harboured hopes of an improbable win, but Scott Styris dismissed the veteran all-rounder and Shoaib Akhtar in the space of three balls as Pakistan was bowled out for 192. Southee (3-25) was the most successful New Zealand bowler, while Mills, Styris and Nathan McCullum took two wickets each as Pakistan slumped to their second heaviest defeat in the World Cup.

New Zealand was far superior than Pakistan in all departments of the game in a lopsided match. However, a major concern for New Zealand would be the knee injury to skipper Daniel Vettori early in Pakistan's innings which forced him to leave the field.

The win lifted New Zealand to the top of Group B with six points from four matches and a Net Run Rate of +1.848; while Pakistan, despite having the same points from as many matches are second with a NRR of +0.760.

Earlier, Taylor had two reprieves in the 14th over bowled by Akhtar when Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal failed to attempt a catch and then made matters worse by dropping a sitter in the same over. At the time, Taylor was on zero and eight respectively, and he made Pakistan pay dearly for the "birthday gifts" as he picked up the pace in the last five overs of New Zealand's innings.

At one stage, New Zealand appeared to be on course to score around 240-250, especially after the batting power play taken in the 42nd over saw the Black Caps score 37 runs for the loss of two wickets. But, Taylor, who had largely been kept in check until that point broke the shackles and took the Pakistani bowlers to the cleaners.

Taylor started the carnage in the 47th over, which was ironically bowled by Akhtar. He hit two boundaries and three massive sixes, two of those over deep midwicket, as Akhtar was hit out of the attack after conceding 28 runs. The third of those sixes brought up Taylor's century off 117 balls, and his first since October 2008. Taylor struggled early on in his innings, but was determined to see off the storm, and did so even if it meant appearing "ugly" at the crease. But, as he gained in confidence, Taylor started to look the world-class cricketer he is, and once he reached his half-century off 78 balls, the New Zealand vice-captain played more freely, the fruit of which was seen in the last four of the Black Caps' innings.

Taylor, who scored a career-best 131 not out off only 124 balls (his last 62 runs came in 16 balls), then hit three sixes and two fours in the 49th over bowled by Razzaq, which cost Pakistan 30 runs. Left-arm spin bowler Rehman (1-60), who shared the new ball with Akhtar and impressed in his first two spells, was taken to the cleaners by Oram, and conceded 34 runs in his ninth and 10th overs, as New Zealand scored 92 runs in the last four overs. Taylor and Oram (25 in 9 balls) added 85 runs in only 22 balls as the pair sapped the spirit and fight out of the Pakistani players.

Pakistan, though, had the ideal start to the match when Akhtar clean bowled Brendon McCullum in the fourth ball of the match after being hit for a six off the previous delivery, which happened to be one of the three front foot no-balls the 'Rawalpindi Express' bowled in his first spell. Jamie How, who replaced the unwell Jesse Ryder, found the going tough and scratched around for a 29-ball 4, before the impressive Gul trapped him plumb in front. Martin Guptill (57), who scored his second consecutive half-century and Taylor then repaired the early damage by putting on a 57-run partnership for the third wicket, but took more than 16 overs to do so, as Pakistan's bowlers controlled the flow of runs with commendable help from the fielders. Hafeez then trapped James Franklin plumb in front, which the batsman reviewed, but then had to walk back to the dressing room when the TV umpire upheld on-field umpire Daryl Harper's initial decision as NZ slipped to 113 for 4 in the 30th over.

Styris, who was also dropped by Kamran off Afridi and Taylor then added 62 runs for the fifth wicket with the veteran all-rounder scoring 27 before he was trapped in front by Gul, who also clean bowled Nathan McCullum after being hit for a six with New Zealand 210-6 in the 46th over. It was to be all downhill though for Pakistan from here on as Taylor and Oram had fun at the bowlers' expense.

Gul (3-32) was the pick of Pakistan's bowlers by a long mile; and while Afridi took his 15th wicket of the 2011 World Cup when he clean bowled Guptill conceded 55 runs. Akhtar (9-0-70-1) and Razzaq (4-0-49-0) had a match to forget with the ball.