Lahore pain drives Sri Lanka on
Kumar Sangakkara and his Sri Lanka side are keen to show their unity when the World Twenty20 starts
Sri Lanka will try to put a nightmare few months behind them as they begin their bid to win the World Twenty20.
The players arrived on English soil for their first major engagement since the team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium for the second Test against Pakistan in March.
They landed in this country amid claims of war crimes by the Sri Lankan military in the conflict with the Tamil Tigers, while a proposed trip to address the Oxford Union was cancelled because of security fears.
But captain Kumar Sangakkara insists his side have been able to put both the trauma of Lahore and the recent troubles behind them and will be concentrating fully on the tournament.
"We feel very positive as a team coming here to play cricket and we as a team feel very positive our country is on the mend," said Sangakkara, who was due to address the Oxford Union alongside team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan.
"We are just looking forward to showing the unity of Sri Lanka that our team represent.
"It was funny getting back on a bus from the airport to go to hotel when we arrived in England.
"We have talked about having smaller vehicles to transport us to and from grounds and after Lahore the thing we have realised is we have gone through a terrible time but life goes on.
"We have got to play cricket and we have to make sure we have the help mentally to deal with what happened in Lahore, and all the guys have moved on.
"We will still have a few memories, all of them not very good, but we have the mental fortitude to move on and play cricket."
The Sri Lankans flee the stadium in a helicopter after terrorists targeted the team bus in Lahore less than three months ago
Sangakkara was one of seven players or officials injured on March 3 when their bus was attacked by terrorists using guns and grenades.
And he admitted the increased security since their arrival in England had been noticeable.
"When we came here we were aware of increased security around us," he said.
"We requested after Lahore for a security expert was on tour with us because we know terrorism is a worldwide problem.
"Before Lahore the bubble burst. We thought that because we are an Asian team, and we are cricketers we would be safe in Pakistan. We were way off the mark and naive.
"Since then the Oxford arrangements were not made known to our security team well enough in advance that was why it was cancelled.
"Security arrangements have been very good so far. We know it is never 100% but I think the arrangements have been good enough for us to concentrate on our cricket."
Sri Lanka warm up for the tournament with a practice match against South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday and against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge the following day.
They are strong favourites to challenge for the trophy despite being grouped with Australia and West Indies, and Sangakkara added: "I am happy and excited about the talent we have, but it is about turning up on the day and winning games that counts."
