Dav Whatmore previews Sharjah

The forthcoming tournament in Sharjah is an important one for Sri Lanka. It is not just another pointless triangular series, but an opportunity to build on the confidence gained from the recent series victories and a chance to gather valuable experience - a priceless commodity that we still lack - so that we develop into the world-class one-day team that our supporters yearn us to be.

What's more, with a seeding system having being introduced for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, we now need to win as many matches as possible over the next 18 months to ensure a favourable draw.

We travel to Sharjah, however, slightly weary, after four arduous months on the road and this will provide us with a physical and mental challenge. Even so, I believe that we start the tournament as favourites and the team is very confident of first reaching - our initial priority - and then winning the final.

It will not be easy despite the unfortunate withdrawal of India. Pakistan can be a top side and New Zealand showed their competency in the ICC KnockOut Trophy last October, which they won after defeating a resurgent Indian team in the final.

New Zealand have picked a relatively inexperienced side, perhaps with one eye on the World Cup, and will undoubtedly miss the services of some key players. Nevertheless, we know that they will be disciplined and determined. They are a steady team with a never say die attitude, who know the one-day game inside out and are excellent in the field. With confidence on a high after a Test series victory against Pakistan they cannot be taken lightly.

Pakistan are always a threat with their rich reserves of raw talent, but you never quite know how they will perform on the day. What you do know is that when they are united they are very difficult side to beat. They too have some new players, whom we have had not had a chance to see. Javed Miandad is no longer the coach and Waqar Younis is captain. We cannot tell what difference this will make after their disappointing tour of New Zealand, but have to expect them to come out with all guns blazing, as they have traditionally fared well in Sharjah.

The Sharjah wicket tends to be good for batting, but you have to work hard for your runs, as the ball does not always come onto the bat as much as you would like. The outfield can be very slow, which means that the running between the wickets and the fielding become very important aspects of the game. Thankfully we are fielding well again after some disappointing ground fielding in South Africa and New Zealand.

Playing under lights may pose problems because of the dew in the evening. Last time we played our leg spinner, Upul Chandana, was unable to grip the ball properly and we had to rest him. The finger spinners encountered fewer problems, however, and this forms the basis of our spin attack this time. Nevertheless, we will have to monitor the situation in the first few days.

Although the spinners may prefer bowling in the day, the faster bowlers can extract a little extra zip from the wicket in the early evening. This being the case there is no clear advantage in fielding first or last and we will just have to look at it on a game-by-game basis.