Cricket: Toss of coin crucial to outcome

COLOMBO - For once Daniel Vettori's worth to his team will not entirely be measured by his performance with bat, ball or as a cricket tactician.

What New Zealand needs most from their captain at R Premadasa Stadium tomorrow is Vettori to win the toss and choose to bat first against Sri Lanka in the opening match of their one-day international Tri-Series with India.

Statistics are ripe for manipulation but when Premadasa is involved the figures don't lie: lose the toss, lose the game.

In the last 10 ODI matches at Sri Lanka's premier day-night cricket venue, the team who bat with the sun on their backs, win with varying degrees of simplicity.

Once the sun sets, the ball can be unplayable as it swings and seams prodigiously - Pakistan's two matches against Sri Lanka there last month a case in point.

Already 0-3 down in the five-match series, Pakistan's Younis Khan ensured his side regained some respectability by dictating terms in the capital.

In the fourth match Pakistan amassed 321 for five; Sri Lanka a measly 175 in reply. Sri Lanka's pace spearheads Lasith Malinga and Thilan Thushara both conceded 74 runs from their 10 overs; Pakistani medium pacer Iftikhar Anjum nabbed a career best five for 30 a couple of hours later.

Then, in the final dead rubber, Pakistan's 279 was more than enough - Sri Lanka folded for 147 as seamers Mohammad Amer and Naved-Ul-Hasan snared four wickets apiece.

That is a scenario Vettori would relish for a pace attack led by a resurrected Shane Bond and certified swing bowler Kyle Mills.

The last team to win batting second were England, who chased down a modest 212 with five wickets and 3-1/2 overs to spare in October 2007.

Since then Sri Lanka have only won three times, the most frequent visitor India have five victories, Pakistan two.

Vettori called correctly in last week's two Twenty20s at Premadasa though both teams batted under lights so it was not as influential.

His gambler's instinct comes into play now and encouragingly he has a decent record as an ODI skipper - he has won 32 tosses, lost 17.

Naturally, New Zealand cannot exclusively rely on Vettori's pre-match judgment and the signs appear positive even if Kumar Sangakkara has a rare success.

Undeterred by an under-strength team's 61-run loss to Sri Lanka A in their only one-day warm-up match at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC) yesterday, New Zealand's vice-captain Brendon McCullum said the confidence gleaned from their Twenty20 triumphs was undiminished.

"The guys are playing with a lot of confidence and it was significant the way we bounced back," he said.

"It was nice to get some new blood into the team after the tests and those guys have done fantastically well.

"All in all, I think the team's travelling pretty good at the moment."

McCullum places himself in that happy predicament after struggling throughout a test series that saw him average 15.25 in his new role at No 6.

Muttiah Muralitharan was particularly problematic, the legendary spinner tying McCullum in knots while he grimaced to scores of 18 and 13 in the second test at the SSC.

The Twenty20s were a merciful release for McCullum whose 49 from 34 balls in game two on Friday had him feeling better about himself.

"It was a big confidence booster," McCullum said.

Even the game before, I was only out there for a couple of overs (for nine), but the calmness I had at the crease was something that was missing during the test series," he said.

"I probably got a little bit flustered there so I've tried to work on being sure of my own game - try and relax and trust what I've got.

"My confidence is a lot higher than what it was two weeks ago."

- NZPA