Jayasuriya suffers from serious form loss as SL take on NZ | Compaq Cup 2009 - 1st ODI

Sanath Jayasuriya is going through a worrying trough 

With only 15 days until the Champions Trophy you'd think the teams' preparations would be ready for the final polish. But Sri Lanka and New Zealand still have a few experiments to complete and players to evaluate in their last chance before the bigger competition.

Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand are reliant on explosive openers and two men behind, with a worrying degree of rawness in the middle- and lower-orders. Both also carry a mixture of inexperienced batsmen and those whose potential remains unfulfilled due to a flawed approach at the crease.

Sanath Jayasuriya's lack of form is a serious concern. "We'd like to keep Sanath out of form, but we know that a player of his class can strike at any time," was Daniel Vettori's assessment.

Sangakkara addressed Sri Lanka's concerns on the eve of the tournament but was confident of a change in limited-overs fortunes when the teams stepped into the 50-over format. "You can read into a loss and come up with a number of theories but it's best to just deal with it and move on. The reality is that New Zealand outplayed us," he said. "It was unfortunate that we lost the first game after having such a strong start from Dilshan. In the second game, we were second best all throughout. One-day cricket is a different ball game. There are more overs and you have more time. You have to raise your standards. I'm confident of our abilities."