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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ahamednishadh" data-source="post: 414008" data-attributes="member: 4368">Mahela hopes England remember past defeatsAFPSri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has said that while memories of a 5-0 thrashing of England will not be an issue for his side come Wednesday's ICC CWC Super Eights clash, they could be for their opponents.Sri Lanka, after bouncing back in England last year to draw a Test series 1-1, crushed their hosts in the one-dayers.That series culminated in an emphatic eight-wicket win at Headingley where Upul Tharanga (109) and Sanath Jayasuriya (152) shared a world record first-wicket stand of 286 as Sri Lanka won with more than 12 overs to spare.Jayawardene, who said that series had been the launch-pad for a run of form that has seen Sri Lanka tipped to repeat their ICC CWC 1996 triumph here, said he didn't expect last year's series to have too much of a bearing now."It depends if England is thinking about it," Jayawardene remarked."For us it's not an issue because we are playing in different situations, different tournament, different conditions and probably different personnel as well. Things have changed since we played England."Sri Lanka enjoyed a crushing 113-run victory against hosts West Indies in Guyana on Sunday and Jayawardene, who scored a morale-boosting 82 in that match, said: "The mood is pretty good. The way we played against West Indies was very satisfying."We batted well in difficult conditions, the bowlers bowled really well and the fielding was up to standard. For us it's about starting that all over again," he added.Reflecting on the England trip, Jayawardene added: "It was a brilliant tour for us but we've come a long way. From that start in England we've pushed on and played some really good cricket."The youngsters learnt a lot from that England trip. From there onwards guys like (fast bowler) Lasith Malinga and (opening batsman) Upul Tharanga have come up pretty well."Jayasuriya, who briefly retired from Test cricket last year, looked near his best during his 115 against West Indies and Jayawardene was delighted by the form of the 37-year-old left-hander, whose century was his 25th at this level."We felt when you come into a World Cup year it's important you play all the matches. When you play all the time it keeps you going so it probably was a good decision for him to come back and play Test cricket as well."He's been brilliant. He's working harder, he's enjoying his cricket and he played some really good innings, not just the one you saw against the West Indies. He keeps going, that's the character of the guy."England skipper Michael Vaughan said his side's ICC CWC "started" against Sri Lanka but Jayawardene, who praised his opponents "individual talent" said he found such an attitude curious."Every game is a big game because every win is two points. You never know how many points will secure you a place in the semi-finals.He added: "If they've waited this long to see this is the time to start their World Cup, I don't know if that's the right way to go because every match we play is very important to us."</blockquote>

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