It is pretty pleasing to qualify for 2019 World Cup but we need to get our preparation right: Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka have gained direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup. (Source: Express Archive)

Veteran Sri Lankan batsman, Angelo Mathews is one relieved man. This was after the West Indies lost the first ODI to England and thereby provided a safe passage to the Lankans for direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup in England. Hence, Sri Lankan does not have to go through the arduous task of the qualification round.

In an interview with the cricbuzz, former skipper Angelo Mathews expressed his relief and said, “It is a pleasing to note that I will be playing another World Cup. I have played the 2011 tournament where we reached the finals and captained the 2015 edition and enjoyed both experiences.”

“The sad part is that we had to wait till someone else won or someone else lost as we couldn’t do it on our own. But it’s pretty pleasing to qualify. We have worked very hard and now we need to get our preparation right for the event in 2019. ” he added.

Reflecting on the performances of his side, Mathews said, “We have had a bad couple of months. We need to take responsibility. Whatever said and done, we didn’t play the cricket we wanted. We started training today (on Tuesday) and we are working extremely hard. We just need to work harder to get to the desired results.”

What we require at the moment is just one win under our belt to get the momentum back. The confidence levels have been low after the last couple of series. One win can turn things around. I am pretty sure that we can turn things around if we play to our potential., he concluded.