145;Loss to Pak was a big disappointment 146;

They are not quite into burning effigies on this island. Even after the 1999 World Cup debacle in England, the fallen captain Arjuna Ranatunga was still treated as a hero.

They are not quite into burning effigies on this island. Even after the 1999 World Cup debacle in England, the fallen captain Arjuna Ranatunga was still treated as a hero.

Seven years on, the nation8217;s captain Mahela Jayawardene did more than Ranatunga in 1999 by telling the media that he took the blame, along with others in the Sri Lanka side, for the team8217;s failure to make the semi-finals in the ICC Champions Trophy.

8220;We have to admit it,8221; he said today. 8220;It was our fault that we failed to progress further than the first round. We are not offering any excuses for our elimination and accept the blame. We didn8217;t play as well as we should have. It is as simple as that.

8220;We are not pointing fingers either 8212; that is not going to help us in our recovery process,8221; he added.

Less than 24 hours after the team8217;s return last week, the squad was summoned by Jayawardene and the coaches Tom Moody and Trevor Penny, for a meeting that closely analysed the team8217;s performances and defeat by Pakistan and South Africa, pin-pointing areas where the side can improve.

8220;Sure we are disappointed, at our exit before the semi-finals,8221; Jayawardene said. 8220;We had planned hard for the tournament and had a good start, but failed to capitalise on our successes in the preliminary round. The biggest disappointment was the defeat by Pakistan,8221; he admitted. 8220;We made far too many mistakes and as a result played badly.8221;

There was the impression, that as against Pakistan, no one wanted to accept the responsibility of putting a competitive total together against South Africa. No one likes losing, but as with India8217;s Virender Sehwag, somehow Sanath Jayasuriya failed to ignite and inspire confidence and that has, to an extent, been a serious problem in the limited overs scenario.

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Pakistan8217;s batting against South Africa, as horrendous as it was and labelled by Bob Woolmer, their coach as 8216;abject surrender8217; is a fair example of what can go wrong. No one is going to suggest that Sri Lanka didn8217;t try. They did, in a sense. But in this game, there is also the element of luck. Jayawardene8217;s runout against South Africa was one of those moments when the rub of the green went against the captain. It happens.

8220;We now need to look ahead and capitalise on the hard lessons we have learned from our disappointments in India,8221; Jayawardene said. 8220;We know we messed up, especially against Pakistan and have to put it right over the next four months.8221;

Sri Lanka8217;s next tour is to New Zealand, starting later this month, followed by another visit to India in late January for a series of limited-overs matches.