Jaywardene braces himself for pace onslaught at Wanderers

Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's serene middle order batsman, is bracing himself for a pace onslaught against South Africa starting Friday.

The 25-year-old right-hander, now firmly established as Sri Lanka's finest batsman in a richly talented line-up, has made adjustments to his game in anticipation of the expected battle with Shaun Pollock and company.

A naturally modest and understated character he is nevertheless confident of maintaining a prolific run for form that has seen him average 55.50 in the last two years, including five Test centuries.

"We have no problems with facing fast bowlers. As long as we stick to our game plan and back ourselves to do well in these conditions we will be ok," said Jayawardene.

Jayawardene, possessed with a natural inclination to attack, vows to take on the pace bowlers in what promises to be a mouth-watering contest.

"In South Africa your defense has to be solid and you must be very compact, playing the ball in front of your eyes," he reveals. "But you must also remain positive, looking to score whenever possible.

Being an impulsive 'hooker' he can be expect to be targeted with short deliveries by the South Africans, who will hope that he holes out in the deep.

But Jayawardene will be taking on the challenge: "I will be pulling and cutting because I know that I am not going to get many opportunities to drive."

During his last tour to South Africa he started with a brilliant 98 at Durban but failed to pass fifty in his next five innings. This time he hopes for greater success having tinkered with his technique during the past two years.

"I have been making little adjustments to my game such as reducing my backlift and trying to avoid moving my feet unnecessarily," he reveals. "On the sub-continent we tend to walk into out shots but here you cannot afford to do that."

Although Sri Lanka have a woeful Test record outside the sub-continent with only three victories in the past two decades, Jayawardene believes that his colleagues can surprise South Africa during the forthcoming series.

"We have improved a lot during the last three years," he says. "We may have lost our last series here but we learnt a great deal during that tour and hopefully we can put those things right in these two Test matches."

"We had two good practice matches here so far. The batsmen have spent time in the middle and everyone is feeling pretty confident. However, the Test match is going to be totally different and we have to prepare ourselves mentally."

He urges his colleagues to lift their games: "We cannot be one step below them just because we are not used to playing in these conditions. We have to raise our game in all three departments and compete with them on a level par."

And if they possess the required self belief then Jaywardene is hopeful: "As long as we have the confidence in ourselves we can be successful here because South Africa have traditionally not handled pressure well."

But he warns that the first two days will be crucial: "When they get on top it can be very difficult to pull them back. It's imperative that we do let them get away in the first two days of the Test match. If we can stay with them to the 3rd and 4th day then we have a very good chance."