Graeme Smith asks http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 to be mentally stronger – Cricket News Update
South African Test captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473, has said that his side needs to be mentally strong to achieve the right result in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday at Cape Town.
The hosts won the opening Test at the Centurion by an innings, and then lost the second by 208-runs at Durban last week.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 feels that the players at his disposal are good cricketers who work hard, but emphasised that psychologically they should get stronger.
"I can't fault the training nor the effort, the players have been outstanding. But mentally we need to be a bit stronger, that's the only thing I can put my finger on," Smith said ahead of the series decider.
"We just didn't adapt well to conditions in Durban and recently we haven't played our best cricket in those conditions. It's easier for us when the ball goes through and there's good carry but when it doesn't we need to adapt, we need to shift mentally,"
added the left-handed opening batsman who did not fare well at Durban.
On the other hand, the Lankan skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 won a Test match on South African soil, and the Islanders are pretty confident going into the New
Year on the back of an infamous victory.
The Sri Lanka Captain was upbeat about the team’s chances to beat the host, in the third and final Test match. He feels that if the guys http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 to the basics, they can achieve the right results in any conditions.
The participation of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LD-Chandimal-c1831 is in question, as the wicket-keeper batsman is yet to recover fully from an elbow injury he sustained.
"It would be a loss for us if he can't play because he did a great job for us in the last test," Dilshan said of Chandimal who guided the tourists to the win by scoring half-centuries in both innings of the Durban Test.
The three match Test series is evenly poised at 1-1, and it sets up the final match nicely.
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