India-Australia rivalry good for us

Our arrival in Australia has been quiet. Caught up in all the excitement of the high-voltage Test series, not many people have noticed that the Sri Lankan team is in town too, and that suits us just fine. As far as we are concerned, making our presence felt is of lesser importance than getting in a few good practice matches, and so far, I am happy in that respect, particularly the way in which we won against a good, strong side like the Prime Minister's XI thanks to some inspirational batting from Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan, and excellent bowling by our boys, particularly Lasith Malinga.

As any team will tell you, one of the keys to touring Australia is acclimatisation, and to the two warm-up matches that we were assigned initially, we have added another smaller fixture, which takes the number of games to three.

While the last international 50-over game that we played was against England in October 2007, we have just come off a tough domestic limited-overs competition back home, so we aren't too worried about match fitness. The relatively long break has also allowed us to run a few experiments involving the younger players, so we've utilised the time fruitfully.

Of course, with the off-field controversies that have surrounded the India-Australia Test series, some people would probably expect us to be a little diverted, particularly since past Sri Lankan tours of Australia have also run into controversy. However, that is not something that we are thinking about at all.

Our aim is to stay professional and play our usual game, and concentrate solely on the cricket. Anything else is avoidable. The ultimate challenge is to beat Australia in Australia, which is not something that happens very often, and to achieve which we have to get to the finals of the CB Series.

We are conscious that we had a good chance to win the tri-series in 2005-06, when we beat Australia in the first final but lost the two remaining ones, and we want to set right that record. As for off-field controversies, all I have to say is, the more India and Australia have a go at each other, the better it is for us!

Our first game, against India, is something we are looking forward to. The Indian youngsters seem exciting prospects, and we have a few youngsters of our own to try out, particularly the likes of Chamara Kapugedera, Ishara Amerasinghe, and Chanaka Welegedara, who have been around for some time but have not had an opportunity to prove themselves as yet, and what arena to prove your worth than a series in Australia?