Sri Lanka can win in New Zealand – Mathews

Captain Angelo Mathews believes Sri Lanka can enjoy success in New Zealand if they reproduce the standard of cricket that saw them beat West Indies.

Sri Lanka won both Tests, all three one-day internationals and drew the Twenty20 series against West Indies, leaving them full of confidence ahead of the trip to face the Black Caps.

Their impressive performances against the Windies came without both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and Mathews knows his new-look side face their biggest challenge since their legendary duo retired.

But he remains upbeat about their chances in the upcoming two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s against New Zealand, with the first Test beginning on December 10.

Mathews said: “We played some really good cricket against the West Indies, we outplayed them in all three departments in all formats but it will be a completely different tour in New Zealand because conditions and the opposition are different.

“We have got to start off from zero, this is a bigger challenge for us because the weather is not going to be on our side, it will be tough and cold but it’s the mental aspect.

“If we can get our mindset right we shouldn’t be too worried about the cold or anything else and make any excuses, we can just go on the tour and play to win.

He added: “New Zealand is a very competitive and strong team, not only at home but away as well. In the last couple of years they have played their best cricket.

“They are a very competitive unit right now, with a very good, balanced team of youth and experience and it’s going to be a tough ask for us to beat them. But I am pretty sure if we do our very best we can beat them.”