Herath eager to battle Proteas

Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath is looking forward to the Test series against South Africa in December, given his side’s recent successes.

The Asian side beat Australia three nil on home soil, before beating Zimbabwe twice in Harare over the past few weeks. Herath feels they have enough skill to beat the Proteas.

The South Africans, meanwhile, are leading their Test series in Australia, but the dangerous spinner feels confident of success nonetheless.

He said: “If you take the Australian series, the 3-0 win gave us a lot of confidence for the Zimbabwe tour.

“Now that we have beaten Zimbabwe and won five Tests in a row, I am sure that confidence will help us for the South African tour.

“I am 100 percent certain about the confidence of our players that they will do well in South Africa.”

As for his own efforts, Herath may be old-school in body form and literal age, but he is still one of the best in the business, and is not planning his retirement yet.

He added: “I have gained a lot of confidence in the last two series I played, taking 28 wickets against Australia and 19 against Zimbabwe.

“I am always planning to take it series by series and try to do my best each time. It’s a much easier target than planning for six to twelve months.

“As long as I am contributing 100 percent, it’s easier to continue playing for the team.”

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