Sangakkara seeks No. 2 Test spot as Sri Lanka take on West Indies in 3-match Test series
Sri Lankan Skipper Kumar Sangakkara is looking forward to improve his side’s Test rankings when the Lankan’s take on the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in a three-match home Test series which begins on Monday.
This will be http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157, but the skipper said that every member of the team has to step up and take responsibility.
"We have a varied bowling attack and each bowler needs to shoulder some of the responsibility for replacing the great man," Sangakkara said ahead of the first Test in Galle.
Sri Lanka’s spin wizard Muralitharan quit Test cricket in July earlier this year with an impressive world-record 800 Test wickets. The veteran spinner will retire from one-day cricket as well after next year’s World Cup.
Sangakkara is hopeful that his men will use the Test series against the relatively inexperienced West Indies side to climb up the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking’s table. The Lankans currently occupy third spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings behind http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, and are eager to climb higher with a series win against the visiting West Indies.
"We need to refocus because this tour is an important stepping stone. We want to win the Test series and we want to improve our value as a Test side," said the home skipper.
During the West Indies tour to Sri Lanka, both sides are scheduled to play three Test matches followed by five One Day Internationals, played across three venues that would host next year’s World Cup matches as well. The venues include Colombo (Khettarama), Hambantota in and the hillside town of Pallekele in Kandy. The 2011 World Cup will be jointly hosted by three subcontinent nations, India and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 being the other two. Both Hambantota and Kandy have been constructed for the World Cup with a seating capacity of 25,000 each.
Sri Lanka has recently returned home after an impressive 2-1 series win against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 Down Under. Sangakkara said the team would try to make the most of the home advantage ahead of their WC preparations.
"We also - hopefully under lights - have a chance to play at both Hambantota and Khettarama. This will really help us to get a feel for the new grounds that will feature in our World Cup programme," he said.
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