Orange crushed

Sri Lanka smashes Netherlands to reach last four

Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya runs between wickets. AP

COLOMBO (Reuters) -- Hosts Sri Lanka crushed newcomers the Netherlands by 206 runs to become the first team to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals on Monday.

Opener Marvan Atapattu struck his sixth one-day hundred to lift his side to 292 for six after skipper Sanath Jayasuriya elected to bat in the day-night pool 4 game at the Premadasa stadium.

Sri Lanka are likely to meet world champions Australia in their semi-final. The Australians lead pool 1 after a record 164-run victory over New Zealand on Sunday and should easily beat Bangladesh in their other pool game.

The Sri Lankans topped pool 4 with their second win after defeating Pakistan by eight wickets on Thursday.

The Dutch were skittled out for 86 with 20.3 overs left, hardly showing the application they had with their spirited fielding and bowling to peg the Sri Lankan total under the 300-run mark.

Jayasuriya told reporters he was not bothered that his batsmen did not dominate as expected.

"We wanted to win this match," he said. "We didn't want to hit them all over the ground. They bowled well, fielded well but dropped a few catches."

Atapattu, who was named man of the match, reached his century in the 42nd over and then said his job had always been to anchor the innings.

"You don't expect batsmen to get runs from both ends, especially if your partner is Sanath. The best thing is to give him the strike and support him," he said.

Dutch captain Roland Lefebvre was pleased despite the defeat.

"I think to restrict them to 292 was a grand effort by our bowlers," he said. "The wicket was very flat, they could have easily run away from us. On the whole we are very pleased."

Dutch resistance

The Netherlands were playing in only their sixth one-day international, and their first since the 1996 World Cup. They had qualified for the event, and next year's World Cup, as winners of last year's ICC trophy in Canada.

The Sri Lankan bowlers reduced the inexperienced opposition to three for four runs in the fourth over as they threatened to bowl the Dutch out for under the lowest one-day total of 38.

But Tim de Leede, who came in to bat at number four, top scored with 31 to avoid any such embarrassment.

He hit five fours in his 43-ball stay, the only other show of resistance coming from Edgar Schiferli, who lofted off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan over midwicket for a six to score 15.

Sri Lanka could afford the luxury of introducing the 290-wicket veteran in the 20th over with six wickets down and the spinner quickly wrapped up the innings, taking 4-15 in 5.3 overs.

Earlier, the host batsmen were made to work harder than expected by the resilient Dutch who claimed the early wicket of captain Sanath Jayasuriya for 36 to keep some check on the run-flow.

The Netherlands' impressive effort in the field was typified by a direct run out by Sussex player Bas Zuiderent and a stunning one-handed catch on the long-on fence by de Leede to remove Aravinda De Silva (23).

Only four players among the Dutch eleven -- skipper Roland Lefebvre, Zuiderent, Robert Oosterom and de Leede -- had played in one-day internationals.

Dutch target one-day status despite crushing loss

Former world champions Sri Lanka whipped the Netherlands by 206 runs to register the biggest win yet in the 12-team Champions Trophy as the Dutch returned to the international game after six years on the sidelines.

Most Dutch players have to play their cricket around fulltime jobs in the Netherlands where cricket has a low profile behind soccer and speedskating. Their lack of depth showed as they were shot out for 86 in reply to Sri Lanka's 292-6.

But Lefebvre said: "To play at the one-day international level is closer to our goal."

The Dutch were grateful to get an opportunity to face players such as Sanath Jayasuriya, the host skipper and explosive opener, and their match-winning off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

"They have only seen such players on television and in magazines," the former Somerset and Glamorgan player said.

The Dutch qualified for this event after winning last year's ICC trophy in Canada, which has also sealed them a berth in next year's World Cup in South Africa. Lefebvre said his players had gained from the defeat.

"If you look for positives out of a match which you have obviously lost, there were plenty," he said.

Simpson's support

He attributed his side's spirited fielding and disciplined bowling to inputs from former Australia coach Bob Simpson, who coached the side briefly before they arrived in Colombo.

"Bob Simpson's strength is that he keeps things simple. He is very much an old fashioned coach, doesn't have much to do with all these innovations. We worked very hard on our fielding with him."

While major test nations enjoy lucrative team and player sponsorships, the Dutch have to make do with sporting AIDS awareness messages on their shirts after a deal with their national AIDS foundation.

He said: "We have to play this type of cricket over and over again. We have to compete against stronger opposition to get used to the strength of the opposition.

"If we get the opportunities and the experience, while playing in strong tournaments, then we will grow slowly."

 

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