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Coach Ford feels Sri Lanka are dark horses
Sri Lanka hope to pull off an upset in the Champions Trophy in England, coach Graham Ford said, The South African head coach of middle-ranked Sri Lanka said preparing for the tournament was one of his biggest challenges. “We have to be realistic and accept that we go into this tournament as underdogs,” Ford said. “Sometimes that is a good place to be.”
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He declined to identify the main opponents. However, he said Sri Lanka were up against some “fantastic players”, but they were in danger of lowering their guard.“We will just be going one game at a time. It is no point in looking past the next game. In world cricket today, every single match that you play is tough.
“There are some high-quality performers in every team. The group we are up against has some fantastic cricketers. We have to be on our best,” he added. He said the Sri Lankans, currently ranked sixth in ODI games, had made progress in recent months thanks to intense training and could return from the tournament “with smiling faces”.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka hired famed South African paceman Allan Donald as a fast bowling consultant ahead of the Champions Trophy starting on June 1. The 15-man squad led by Mathews completed a week-long training session in Sri Lanka. They went through strength and altitude training in the central hill region of Kandy, 500 metres (1,640 feet) above sea level, to prepare for conditions in England.
Warm-up matches
May 26 vs Australia at The Oval
May 30 vs New Zealand at Edgbaston
League matches
June 3 vs South Africa, The Oval (Day)
June 8 vs India, The Oval (D)
June 12 vs Pakistan, Cardiff (D)
Best result:
Joint-winners in 2002 with India
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