Scotland hope to tackle Sri Lanka’s sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga in the World Cup today by practising with Paul Collingwood’s throwdowns at the nets, according to captain Preston Mommsen.
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Former England all-rounder Collingwood, who is working with the non-Test side at the tournament, gave the Scottish batsmen a taste of what to expect by simulating Malinga’s unique action at training.
“We’ve got Colly with us who has played a lot of cricket against Malinga,” Mommsen said ahead of the Pool A fixture at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
“He has worked out his action and throws to us at the nets as if Malinga was bowling.
“So that way we have been able to simulate Malinga’s action. Obviously, it’s something different and something that we’ve done some fair preparation on, but we’re expecting to take our time against him.”
The match holds only academic interest as Sri Lanka have already qualified for the quarter-finals and Scotland are out of the race after losing their first four matches.
But Mommsen said the team was excited at the two upcoming games in Hobart – against Sri Lanka today and Australia on Saturday – which gives them a chance to play against established Test nations.
“We don’t get the opportunity to play against Full Members (of the International Cricket Council) very often, so to have two in the space of a few days is something very exciting for all of us,” he said.
“Obviously, results-wise it has not been the most perfect World Cup for us, but we’ve got two great opportunities and that’s the way we’re looking at it.”
Scotland have yet to win a World Cup match, with this the third edition in which they’ve competed. Sri Lanka have played Scotland just once in a one-day international, winning easily by 183 runs in Edinburgh in July 2011.
Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu has promised full intensity from his team. The Islanders, who have won three of their five matches, will likely take third place in Pool A behind co-hosts New Zealand and Australia if they win their last game.
#howzstat – Lasith Malinga has bowled 44 yorkers in the tournament, 18 more than any other bowler #cwc15 pic.twitter.com/rRsYKZJlCn
— ICC (@ICC) March 11, 2015
“The idea is to play our best cricket,” said Atapattu. “That is how we want to play every match and it will be no different against Scotland. When you get on the pitch, you start a new game from scratch.”
Atapattu admitted the spate of injuries that has hit the squad was not ideal preparation for the big games to come. Sri Lanka, who had already lost all-rounder Jeevan Mendis and batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, suffered another blow yesterday when Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Chandimal retired hurt after a 24-ball 52 against Australia on Sunday and has been replaced by lefthand batsman Kusal Perera.
