Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu on Friday admitted that her team made numerous mistakes in all three departments of the game during a disappointing Women’s World Cup campaign, attributing their current position to losses against India and England.
Co-hosting the tournament with India, Sri Lanka concluded their campaign after their last round-robin fixture against Pakistan was called off due to rain, which has been a regular occurrence at this venue during the event.
Asked about the weather conditions in Colombo, Chamari said, “I will try to control what I can control. As a team, the expectations were high coming into this World Cup. Unfortunately, we lost the first game against India and another game against England.”
“In this World Cup,
we made a lot of errors in the India and England matches, and that’s why we lost those two games. Those games have really affected us, and that’s why we are in this position.”
Three of their seven matches were washed out, and they achieved one win while suffering three defeats.
“We’ve made a lot of mistakes in the field, as a batting unit, and as a bowling unit. This isn’t the way we want to play, unfortunately, but we’re focusing on what we can do better in the future.”
Chamari held out hope for the future.
“We have good young players and good senior players. The seniors always talk to the youngsters and give advice. As captain, I’m trying to free all the girls. I always tell them to play positive cricket. That’s what I want to see.
“We have a good domestic structure now, and we’re playing a lot of cricket in Sri Lanka. So, hopefully, we can become a good team in the future.”
She added, “Actually, compared to South Africa, India, and New Zealand – these are three teams we’ve beaten in the last 12 months. We also beat England in England in the T20 format, though that’s a different format. But on any given day, the team that plays its best cricket will win.
“We need to improve our batting a bit, especially in the longer format where patience is key. We need to play our natural game. I think we’re very close to the top four teams, but we need to keep improving. If we make too many mistakes in one game, we can’t win.”
Pakistan end without a win
Pakistan endured a forgettable campaign as they failed to win a single game, and the only time they looked poised for victory, against England, the match was called off.
Captain Fatima Sana also noted that the weather did not help her team’s cause.
Reflecting on the tournament, Sana said, “We were very good in bowling and in fielding, but we lacked in batting.
“We were very close against Australia and England, but unfortunately, we could not cross the line, and that is the main thing.”
Asked about the team’s performances against Australia and England, she said, “As a captain and youngest captain, these matches give me a lot of boost. The only thing is the weather did not go in our favour in the England match and the other matches.
“ICC must arrange good venues for the World Cup because we are waiting for four years. We have not played much cricket in the recent past. We definitely need much more cricket after the World Cups.
“Next year, we have the T20 World Cup as well, and hopefully, we get more cricket and prepare well for the next big event.”
(With inputs from PTI)
