Sri Lanka to ‘fight fire with fire’ as Mathews eyes new England shock

BENGALURU: Former captain Angelo Mathews said Sri Lanka will “fight fire with fire” against England as the veteran all-rounder plots his second successive World Cup upset over the defending champions.

Veteran all-rounder Mathews initially missed out on selection for the tournament but was summoned to India to replace the injured Matheesha Pathirana.

On Thursday, he is expected to go straight into the team to face England who have an identical record of one win and three defeats so far.

“We have to play our A game to win against a strong English team,” said 36-year-old Mathews on Wednesday.

“Even though they haven’t played to their potential, they are a very dangerous team. It’s a good wicket, small outfield, and we have to fight fire with fire because they’re going to come really hard at us and we are up for the challenge.”

Sri Lanka are coached by former England coach Chris Silverwood who left the role in 2022 after a 4-0 Ashes drubbing.

“It’s a different ball game, different conditions, different team,” added Mathews who made his debut back in 2008.

“Obviously Chris knows in and out most of their players and we’ve had discussions about the team as well.”

At the 2019 World Cup, Mathews played a starring role when Sri Lanka defeated England in Leeds, scoring an undefeated 85 in a 20-run victory.

The hosts had the last laugh when they went on to capture the title for the first time.

Mathews has only played four ODIs for Sri Lanka in three years. However, he brings a wealth of experience with 221 career ODIs under his belt as well as 106 Tests and 78 T20s.

“I knew that when the opportunity comes, I have to be ready,” said Mathews, now appearing in his fourth World Cup.

“I just did that over the last month or so, I was training extremely hard. I was giving myself a chance to be prepared.”

EVERYTHING MUST-WIN NOW: MOEEN

Meanwhile, Moeen Ali said that “everything is a must-win now” as England face a World Cup day of reckoning.

England know that a defeat in Bengaluru on Thursday will shatter any realistic hopes of sneaking into the semi-finals.

“We know we’ve been in this position before although probably not to this degree, but we know everything is a must-win,” said Moeen.

“We have to get our confidence and perform well and bat and bowl and field better than we have done so far in this tournament.”

England’s lone win came against equally hapless Bangladesh.

They have lost to New Zealand, suffered a shock defeat to Afghanistan and then slumped to a 229-run thrashing at the hands of South Africa, conceding their highest total in an ODI of 399.

Moeen is England vice-captain but the 36-year-old veteran was dropped after the opening defeat to New Zealand and has been sidelined.

He made just 11 runs in that game and failed to take a wicket.

“It’s very frustrating, obviously, because you want to play and make some sort of difference,” added Moeen.