Lanka desperate to shrug off losing habit today

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Feb 13 (AFP): Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has demanded an immediate end to the losing habit that has infected his side in the lead up to Saturday's World Cup opener against New Zealand in Christchurch.
The "fighting spirit" was not there he said Friday as he reviewed a disappointing build up to cricket's premier ODI tournament.
Despite leading a side stacked with high performers, Mathews has seen his side crash to a 4-2 series defeat against New Zealand last month and then lose two World Cup warm-up games against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
They were performances far removed from previous Sri Lankan sides that won the 1996 World Cup and were runners up in the last two tournaments in 2007 and 2011.
"In the recent past, especially in New Zealand, we've found ways of losing games more than winning games and I think our late middle order haven't produced good results for us," he said.
"We had a couple of bad practice matches as well, but we're not too concerned (about them) because we gave guys opportunities and we tried out a few things."
Whether batting first or second against New Zealand, Sri Lanka made a flying start through stars such as Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan but once they were removed the wickets fell cheaply.
Mathews believed the biggest lesson Sri Lanka have learned is they need to change their approach and not the players.
"It's the fighting spirit that we've got to bring into it. When you lose a few games you tend to be a bit more down and you've got to fight hard," he said. "It's going to be a fresh series for us, it's going to be the start of the World Cup.
"We've put everything under the carpet and we're just going to go out there and be positive."
An added motivation to lift their game is to produce a fitting farewell to Sangakkara and Jaywardene, the 37-year-old batting kingpins who have indicated this World Cup is their last outing on the ODI stage.