25 October – Bengaluru – Sri Lanka player Angelo Matthews pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
Have you been told what sort of role you’re going to play in this team?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Well, mostly, I mean, our top order is quite settled, so wherever the team wants me, wherever the captain, the coach wants me to bat, I will bat. And it looks like I’ll bat in the middle order. But the position doesn’t really matter, as long as I can contribute in whatever way possible towards a winning cause. I’m not really bothered about personal milestones, batting up top of the order and getting hundreds or fifties. I’d rather bat anywhere the team wants me to and try and contribute in a very small way, even for a win.
[Reporter:]
After being initially excluded from the World Cup squad, did you ever think that you will get this moment?
[Angelo Mathews:]
No, I think it’s just that because those things I can’t control, It’s not under my control. So, what I can control is keep pushing myself individually in terms of fitness, bowling, batting, everything.
I mean, when the opportunity comes, I have to be ready. I just did that over the last month or so, I was training extremely hard at HPC with the other boys as well. So, I was giving myself a chance to – if I get the opportunity, to be prepared. But as I said, I didn’t expect, because after the 15 was selected, I was not expecting. But it is what it is, the opportunity came.
[Reporter:]
Angie, you are the most experienced player of the team, no doubt about that. What was your mind, because during the World Cup I saw so many big upset victories, Afghanistan they really played well. In your experience, the Sri Lankan team, do you think what type of a thing you have to do from these matches?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean, see we saw Afghanistan, Netherlands winning. And I don’t want to call it upsets, because they played extremely well to get into the World Cup. They played extremely well in the qualifiers as well, especially the Netherlands.
So, any team can beat any team on their given day. And, yes, for us, it’s pretty simple. We have to win most of our matches out of the next five to give ourselves a chance to get into that semi-finals, which is our initial target. And we still have our hopes. I mean, obviously, it’s not that our team has played badly. We’ve done mistakes we shouldn’t have. Well, obviously, mistakes do happen. But the opposition have got the better of us in the last three games, the first three games. And the last game was pretty good against the Netherlands, I mean that gives us the confidence to go out there tomorrow and again start fresh and have that confidence that we can beat England.
[Reporter:]
Do you have any plan, because you came in as an all-arounder, do you have any plan to bowl tomorrow?
[Angelo Mathews:]
If the captain gives me the ball, obviously I’ll bowl. But yes, I prepared myself to bowl some overs as well because I know if I bowl, I can give the skipper an advantage of when choosing the team, so I can give him another option so yeah, I’ll try and contribute in whatever way possible.
[Reporter:]
Kusal Mendis, I mean this obviously made his debut under your captaincy eight years ago Now you’re playing under him. What does it mean to you to play under him and how long has he come so far in these last eight years?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean, Kusal, when I saw him first, he was still a damn good player. And he’s evolved so much over the last five, six years. And now he’s showing his maturity playing fearless cricket, leading from the front. And yes, I mean, playing under him, I’ve played under so many different captains and they’ve also played under me, so, it’s a cycle. We all get into that cycle and then we come in, we go out and then the next generation come in. So, playing under Kusal, where he started when I was the captain, it gives me pleasure because he’s come a long way and I’ve seen him grow as a person and also as a batsman over the years which is very fantastic to see.
[Reporter:]
Just talking about tomorrow’s match, how beneficial is it for you guys to have Chris Silverwood in your side, man with a bit of insight in the opposition. And also, the fact that Sri Lanka beat England in the last World Cup, and you were part of the team, how confident are you that you can repeat that performance?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean, it’s a different ball game, different conditions, different team. Obviously, Chris knows in and out of most of their players and we’ve had discussions about the team as well. I mean, obviously we have to play our A game to win against a strong English team. Even though they haven’t played to their potential, they are a very dangerous team. We have to, as I say, 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.
[Reporter:]
Just to going into that Headingly game where you guys beat England at the last World Cup. It’s one of many strong performances that you’ve put in against England and you seem to, whenever I’ve seen you, seem to really enjoy the contest of playing England. What are your feelings and memories of playing against England over the years?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean whether you play at home or away or in England or any other neutral venue, it’s always a contest between the English because we know the brand of cricket that they play and it’s all about you got to be positive with them. If you if you take a backward step, they are going to jump on to you and then they’re going to take the advantage but we need to sort of be positive with them.
As I keep saying you have to fight fire with fire. We know that they are a high-quality team. They are a very well-balanced team. And they can hurt us badly if we are being complacent.
[Reporter:]
So, we’ve seen that over the years, cricket has grown a lot and people have got attracted to this game. Now it’s taken a bigger step and if you see the 2028 Olympics which is far away, cricket has gone into that as well. So, what are your thoughts on this?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean cricket has come a long way from where it started to now and then we’ve seen the Test Championship, adding a bit of flavour into Test cricket as well.
I mean, it gives all of us, especially the fans, cricketers hope of cricket getting better and better and a lot more entertaining than what it was over the years. So yeah, it’s vastly growing and it has taken the world stage by storm.
[Reporter:]
You’re now coming to the side as an injury replacement, but you come with a wealth of experience, fourth World Cup. So, in the lead up to this match, what was your mindset like? How did you keep yourself in the zone? You will obviously not be in the squad, but you should be ready to be in the squad at any point in time. So, what was your mindset and how was your preparation?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, look, I’ve probably seen it all over the last 15 years, so it’s quite easy for me to sort of focus on what I have to do rather than getting too affected on what’s happening around me because cricket has taught me so much over the years.
And then now I’m, I would say, a little more mature than who I was before to sort of shut down the things which I have to and then focus on what I have to focus on.
So, all I’m trying to control is the controllables and I try not to worry too much. Well, obviously, we are people with emotions and then reacting for those emotions is going to damage you so I try to keep calm and then focus on what I have to do and then obviously always do the right thing.
[Reporter]
You’ve stated that this will be your final World Cup tournament, what message would you like to convey to your fans, and how do you feel about this unique opportunity?
[Angelo Mathews]
Certainly, as I mentioned earlier, I extend my heartfelt wishes for Matheesha’s [Pathirana] swift recovery. It’s truly disheartening for any player to have to leave a World Cup tournament due to injury. I believe he will do a great service for Sri Lanka in the next ten to twelve years. Therefore, my best wishes for his speedy recuperation.
Moreover, I’m grateful for this opportunity. This marks my fourth fifty-over World Cup match. Our team and I are committed to giving our best performance, with the primary goal of reaching the semifinals. I’m fully prepared to put in the hard work necessary to achieve this.
it’s my fourth World Cup in five years. I can play as well as I want. We saw the semi-finals, which was our first goal. We can go to the next level. That’s what I and my team are hoping for. So, it’s going to be fun.
[Reporter:]
You yourself spoke about not having played a lot of white ball cricket in the last three years. Even they say you’ve not played since June – ODI cricket. So, what sort of effort went into keeping yourself fit for a format like 50-over format?
[Angelo Mathews:]
Yeah, I mean, mostly the teams play a lot of 20-20s. I mean, because we had the 20-20 World Cup last few years, so there was a lot of interest going into T20 cricket. And also, the Test Championship, as I said, has added a lot of flavour into Test cricket. So, a lot of Test cricket and T20 cricket have been played. But I personally was not part of the ODI team for quite a while. I mean, I played only like three games over the last two or three years. But I had a good LPL. I bowled batted and fielded well. So that gave me the confidence. And also, as I always say, I just try to focus on my fitness, trying to be fit, bowl a few overs, and keep myself fit and trying to give myself a chance. If I do get the opportunity, then to grab it with both hands. So, I’m looking forward to this World Cup.