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ICC Champions Trophy 2006>
Lankan team is more united now: Vaas
13th Oct 2006  14.30 IST
By Agencies  


Veteran Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas says the difference between the team that lost the one-day and Test series to India last season and the current one was that the present squad was more united under skipper Mahela de Silva Jayawardene .

"We are more united now and each player knows his responsibility in the team while in the past things were left to the other one (to complete)," the left-arm pacer said on Thursday ahead of the Emerald Islanders' last ICC Champions Trophy qualifying match against the West Indies on Saturday.

Both the rivals arrived for the October 14 encounter at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, which is set to see the return of big-time cricket after a decade, have already qualified for the second stage of the ten-team event.

The other two teams in the preliminary stage, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh , have been eliminated prior to their last league encounter on Friday at Jaipur against one another.

"Mahela has shown good leadership qualities," said Vaas, adding that all the captains under whom he had played were good.

Vaas said the qualifying stage of the tournament was providing good match practice for the teams.

"They have been good practice games for the task ahead. The game against the West Indies would be a good match. We have played well (so far)," said Vaas who is in the twilight of is long career.

Also View
In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006
Team Page: Sri Lanka
Team Page: West Indies



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