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Age shalt not wither...

Cricket lovers are quick to point out that a nation must show its proficiency at the one-day game to prove itself worthy of Test play.

That is exactly what Sri Lanka has done.

The 1996 World Cup success was a giant step, with outspoken skipper Arjuna Ranatunga confident his side can win back-to-back titles and set its sights on regular Test cricket.

Batting remains Sri Lanka's forte -- be it posting a formidable total or chasing the impossible. The team is built around the batsmen, most of whom are decent spinners.

But fielding has let the aging team down badly.

The only thing that might work against Sri Lanka defending a title it won as 66-1 rank outsider in Lahore, Pakistan, is its lack of mobility in the field.

The 15-man squad carries 11 from the previous tournament and that means they have aged by three years.

Two more, off-spinner Ruwan Kalpage (age 29) and all-rounder Chandika Hathurusinghe (30), played in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. By contrast, batsman Mahela Jayawardene (21) and medium-fast bowler Erik Upashantha (26), are newcomers to World Cup cricket.

"Age is not a factor,'' says Ranatunga, who is 35. His vice-captain and master batsman Aravinda de Silva will be 34, and so will be batsmen Hashan Tillekaratne and Roshan Mahanama.

"Experience is the most important thing and our side is based on it. The boys have done it once and now they know how to do it again,'' Ranatunga said.

Ranatunga, playing in his fifth tournament, is confident Sri Lanka will become only the second team since the West Indies (1975 and 1979) to retain the title.

"When we tried new players we did not work too well. In the last couple years we tried to introduce new blood to replace some of the senior players,'' said Ranatunga, the longest surviving international cricketer, who made his debut back in 1982.

Duleep Mendis, chairman of selectors and Sri Lanka's tour manager, thought the same.

"You go into a tournament like the World Cup to win it, not to try things out,'' he said. " Hence the reason we have very senior and experienced players in the squad.''

Since winning the Cup in '96, Lanka has won 43 of its 81 one-day internationals including six tournaments.

But in the last 12 months or less, it has managed to win only seven of its last 24 and fielding was once again blamed for the losses in Sharjah, Australia and in India.

Sri Lanka has acquired the services of Trevor Chappell to improve the team's fielding. According to Mendis, Trevor, the youngest of the Chappell brothers to play for Australia, has "done wonders''.

Mahanama, 33, once an opening batsman, was picked purely for his fielding and his recall was imminent following Lanka's waning fielding standards in the lead up to the World Cup.

Since winning Test status in 1982 and then claiming the World Cup 14 years later, Lanka enters in the 1999 12-nation tournament still recovering the backlash of its boards disputed election.

"We try to leave politics and cricket where they belong. But let's be honest, I am sure it will have some effect on the team's morale,'' said Dhammika Rnatunga, chief executive officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and elder brother of Arjuna.

Mendis disagrees.

"I think the players know where to draw the line. The morale is high and everyone will see it when the tournament starts,'' Mendis said.

Sri lLnka opens the tournament against host England at Lord's on May 14 in a group A match. The group also include favorite South Africa, 1983 champion India, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

"We have a few surprises up our sleeve, which we hope to put into operation in England,'' Mendis said.

"We've showed we can play in any condition and win. I am hopeful we can successfully defend the championship.''

Associated Press