The last two seasons have been good for us in Test cricket, and it
shows in how we have moved up to the No. 2 spot. But we now move into
an area of our game that has caused us concern in recent times and
needs more focus.

Over the last year, we have been patchy and inconsistent in ODIs.
That's the best way to put it. We have won matches, but at the same
time we have lost many. Our No. 7 rank in the ICC ratings is a fair
indicator of where we stand. When a team is not consistent and ruthless
- we beat Pakistan 3-2, we probably should have beaten them by a bigger
margin after having won the first three - it's difficult to move up the
rankings.

Even at home we have won six and lost nine matches
in the last year. We have had to bat under the lights at the R
Premadasa Stadium more often than we would have liked - seven out of
nine matches - but that can't be an excuse. A 6-9 is not a great
performance at home. You do want to dominate at home and win
everything. We haven't done that. As a team we need to take
responsibility and fix areas that need to be fixed.

One of those, a very important one, is the
top-order batting. Between me, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya,
we have only two centuries in the last year. The top order has
to get the runs. We get to bat the most overs, and it's our
responsibility to get the big scores and bat through the innings. We
have had a few bad tours individually. During the first half of the
year I wasn't doing well in one-day cricket, then Jayasuriya went
through a bit of a lean period. Sangakkara has held on for a while, but
it is disappointing that we haven't got the big hundreds.

It's a tough call for someone like Sanath. We have
all known what a performer he is, so it's hard for the selectors. At
the end of the day it's up to individual players to realise the
decision they have to make. The guys around him are scoring runs and
are putting a little bit of pressure on him. It's a team call and we
will see how it goes.

It's been difficult for the youngsters coming in.
Yes, they have taken their time. Yes, they haven't gone in and done
really well, but we have to believe in them and have a lot of faith in
their ability. They will soon gain experience and understand their
games better.

To be fair to them, the combination in one-day cricket keeps changing,
and they haven't got consistent runs. Chamara Kapugedera has been
tested for quite some time, and now he has begun to get a regular place
in the side. That's a comfortable position for him to be in. Thilina
Kandamby has done pretty well in the A team, and now he too is getting
a longer run in the senior team. Then there is Angelo Mathews coming
up. We want them to have enough experience under their belts before we
go into the 2011 World Cup. And while they wait to become fixtures in
the XI, they have an inspiration not far away. Tillakaratne Dilshan got
limited opportunities in the initial parts of his career, and spent a
lot of time at Nos. 6 or 7. But he made those chances count. Dilshan is
a different character. The way he bats, the amount of confidence he has
in himself, is amazing. That is to do with the attitude, and that's
something we try to encourage with these guys too - carry a lot of
confidence. We would love Mathews to be that guy at No. 6 or 7. If he
can be that player, a lot of our problems can be solved.

But much of it comes down to the top order, where one of the top four
has to bat through. The middle order has to handle things better in
certain situations.

The positive for us has been our bowling, which has been consistent and
has allowed us to use well the variations we have at our disposal.

A crucial area is our fielding, which hasn't been the greatest in the
last six months, and that's something we are working hard at. We need
to take those half-chances and make the close run-outs.

It is a bit frustrating that we have done so well
in Tests and yet struggled in the shorter form. It's all about the
mindset and approach. In Test cricket you have the time to play
yourself in, settle in and go about things. One-day cricket is all
about handling different situations. And we haven't handled those
situations properly.

That said, we need to be confident. We need to
remember that we won our last one-day series, against Pakistan, which
is a fairly good opposition. In between we may have lost three
Twenty20s, but it's a different game. In Twenty20, if you make a
mistake, it's difficult for you to come back, which is what we did
against Pakistan and New Zealand. The 50-over game is completely
different. Even if you make a slight error, there is plenty of time to
come back.

The approach is going to be totally different, and we will go in
confidently despite the presence of strong opposition in the
tri-series. We have realised over the last one-and-a-half months that
New Zealand are a tough side, and India of course are the No. 2 side in
the world, trying to move on to No. 1. This should be fairly good
preparation for the Champions Trophy, where we hope to rediscover our
knack of getting it together in big tournaments.