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Australia vs. Sri Lanka: Factbox Posted: Monday March 17, 2003 8:04 AMPORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (Reuters) -- Factbox on the World Cup semifinal between Australia and Sri Lanka on Tuesday: TEAMS: Australia appear to be a team for all seasons. It's hard to argue against 15 wins in a row. Port Elizabeth, however, has been the venue of its two most difficult games in the tournament, against England -- which Australia sneaked by two wickets in the final over of the match -- and New Zealand. Both times, however, the world champion showed how deep it can bat and how well it can bowl in defense of any target. This is a team who seem to shrug off misfortune and turn it into a positive. When Jason Gillespie was forced home with a heel problem, Andy Bichel came in and saved the side on both occasions at Port Elizabeth (7-20 and 34 not out vs. England, 64 vs. New Zealand). Sri Lanka, the 1996 world champion, relies more on individual brilliance. Skipper and opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas's left-arm seam bowling and off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan are key to their hopes, with Marvan Atapattu providing the batting solidity. FORMWATCH: Australia is in Cup-winning form, with nine wins out of nine and a world record of 15 one-day international wins in a row. It has already beaten every side left in the semifinals. Sri Lanka has lurched dramatically from good to bad, both before and during the tournament. Shared the Champions Trophy, the biggest one-day event outside the World Cup, with India in September before losing a Cup warm-up one-day series 4-1 in South Africa. Suffered a shock defeat by Kenya in Nairobi in the first round but also beat New Zealand and West Indies and tied with South Africa to knock the hosts out. Then crushed by Australia and India in the Super Sixes and only reached the last four when New Zealand failed to beat India. HEAD-T0-HEADS: The statistics show that Australia beat Sri Lanka in two of every three matches. But the rivalry has been much keener since the early 1990s after Australia had won 16 of the first 19 meetings. Sri Lanka has lost the last three one-day series, and four of the last five matches, but says it wins the games that matter, including the 1996 World Cup final and the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal in September. KEY PLAYERS: Australia -- Brett Lee seems certain to become the player of the tournament. Repeatedly, he has made early inroads to settle matches. Against Kenya he took a hat-trick without conceding a run, against New Zealand he took five wicket for three runs in 15 balls and in the previous match against Sri Lanka he took three wickets for one run in 11 deliveries. A true strike bowler, backed up by the metronomic Glenn McGrath. Both have 17 wickets. Sri Lanka -- Muttiah Muralitharan wins matches in two ways, either taking wickets -- he also has 17 Cup victims, at 19.29 apiece -- but almost as often by throttling scoring rates, conceding 3.32 runs an over at the tournament. When he comes on, Australia will defend while trying to score off the other bowlers. PREVIOUS WORLD CUPS: Holder Australia won the trophy for the first time in 1987 and, having achieved runners-up spots in 1975 and 1996, is the only country to have reached the final on four occasions. Sri Lanka won the 1996 tournament by beating Australia, in the process revolutionizing the game with its all-out attacking batting in the first 15 overs. It was the first time it had qualified for the final stages of the Cup. In 1999, it crashed out early, prompting a cull of older players. VENUE: St George's Park, Port Elizabeth -- A surprise choice to stage a World Cup semifinal. Oldest test ground in the country, the venue for South Africa's first ever home test, vs. England in 1889. Two years later it also staged the first ever rugby test in South Africa. Venue for South Africa's last test before isolation when they thrashed Australia by 323 runs in 1970, completing a 4-0 series sweep. Stadium underwent a major facelift for the World Cup but pitch has been criticized as being too slow for exciting cricket. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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