Veteran pace bowler Chaminda Vaas believes Sri Lanka have a great
chance of repeating their 1996 World Cup triumph at the 2007 tournament
in the Caribbean over the next two months. 
"The current side is in the same mould as the outfit that
won under Arjuna Ranatunga and we are peaking at the right time,"
he told reporters before the team left for the West Indies.
"We possess a well-balanced side which is equally strong in all three
departments, batting, bowling and fielding, and the unity under (captain) Mahela
Jayawardeneis excellent."
Sri Lanka`s form leading up to the tournament has been mixed
with a disappointing Champions Trophy, a 2-2 away draw to New Zealand
and a 2-1 loss to India.
But Jayawardene insists his team are not reading too much into
the recent loss to India, a series in which their two leading bowlers,
Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, were rested.
"We travel to the World Cup knowing that we have a squad
capable of winning the tournament if we play our best cricket," Jayawardene
told Reuters.
"We may have just lost to India but that short series also allowed the
middle order to regain form and gave the back-up bowlers some really good exposure.
"We have improved a great deal during the past year and we have shown
that we have the kind of competitive instinct and fighting spirit necessary
to win major tournaments."
Sri Lanka will play in Group B with 1983 champions India, Bangladesh
and Bermuda.
"We have to take it one match at a time and will not be takingany opposition
lightly," said Jayawardene, a member of the team who suffered a shock defeat
to Kenya at the 2003 World Cup.
Sri Lanka are likely to play six specialist batsmen and five frontline bowlers
on good batting pitches and play an extra batsman when conditions assist the
bowlers.
The main dilemma will be the final makeup of the middle order after Chamara
Silva cracked a brilliant 107 not out against India, his maiden one-day international
hundred.
Four players, Silva, Russel Arnold, Tillakaratne Dilshan
and former captain Marvan Atapattu, are competing for the number five
and six slots if Sri Lanka play just six batters.
Sri Lanka`s bowling has traditionally revolved around the accurate
swing bowling of Vaas and the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest one-day
wicket-taker playing in the World Cup.
But while they remain pillars of the attack, Sri Lanka now
have other wicket-taking options up their sleeve, including the genuine pace
of Lasith Malinga.
The 23-year-old, who bowls with an unusual round arm action, has claimed 39
wickets in 28 matches at a healthy average of 26.97.
He has claimed a permanent berth in the ODI team because of his ability to
produce dangerous reverse-swinging yorkers at high speed with the old ball.
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