'We can't be complacent' - Mathews

Dejan Kalinic

'We can't be complacent' - Mathews image

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews told his team they cannot afford to underestimate Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup on Sunday.

Both teams lost their opening Pool A matches, but Sri Lanka will still enter the clash in Dunedin as hot favourites.

Mathews said his team were ready for the minnows, and urged them not to expect an easy contest at University Oval.

"Preparation has been really good. We worked extremely hard in the past few days to prepare ourselves for this game because we have to take it very seriously," he told a media conference on Saturday.

"We can't be complacent, we can't take it lightly, and we are very well-prepared and we are up for the challenge."

Fielding has been a focus for Sri Lanka in the lead-up, but Mathews said it was not as big an issue as many suggested.

The 27-year-old believes only consistency has been lacking from his team in the field.

"We've been doing fielding every single day. And we look to try and improve on that, especially, that we haven't done well," Mathews said.

"We haven't been consistent, we're trying to be consistent in our fielding and we worked extremely hard so hopefully we can carry it through to the next game."

Mathews said Sri Lanka would definitely play their best team, one which they are yet to decide on.

Dejan Kalinic