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Rangana Herath, who led Sri Lanka to a 2-0 sweep of Zimbabwe in his first series as captain, has said that the teams recent run in Test cricket bodes well for the South Africa tour, which starts with the Boxing Day Test in Port Elizabeth. Sri Lankas 257-run victory in Harare in the second Test was their fifth successive win - they swept Australia 3-0 at home prior to this series - to equal their second-longest winning streak in Tests.If you take the Australian series, the 3-0 win gave us a lot of confidence for the Zimbabwe tour, Herath said on Saturday. Now that we have beaten Zimbabwe and won five Tests in a row, I am sure that confidence will help us for the South African tour. I am 100 percent certain about the confidence of our players that they will do well in South Africa.Herath himself led the way in Zimbabwe, taking 19 wickets in two matches at an average of just over 15. During his 8 for 63 in the second Test in Harare, Herath became only the third bowler, after Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn, to complete a five-for against all nine other Test nations.I would say it was a kind of a high achievement, Herath said. I didnt know that I was the third player to achieve that feat, but I am really happy with that performance because I havent had a five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe, and it was the first time I played against them. I am really happy to join that club with Murali and Steyn.Herath, who stood in as captain in the absence of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, said he relished the experience. I enjoyed every single moment of it and I did really enjoy the captaincy. I had played under a lot of captains like Sanath (Jayasuriya), Mahela (Jayawardene), Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara), (Tillakaratne) Dilshan, Hashan (Tillakeratne) and Angelo (Mathews), and gained experience from them. That experience helped me a lot coupled with the little bit I had captaining Moors SC to the Premier league title.Herath acknowledged the contributions of several players, including the returning Upul Tharanga, for making his job easier. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit form with 280 runs in four innings, including a century and two fifties. Tharanga held the middle order together and brought up his second Test hundred last week, nearly 11 years after his first. Fringe players like batsman Dhananjaya de Silva and seam-bowling allrounder Asela Gunaratne also impressed. It was easier to captain when every single player was performing and contributing a lot to the team, Herath said. I must thank the players and the supporting staff for our success in the series.If you take individually, Kusal Perera, Kaushal Silva, Dhanajaya (de Silva), Asela Gunaratne, Dimuth Karunaratne performed; every single player contributed in every single game. Players like Upul Tharanga, who came to Test cricket after a long time, and Asela, who played his first at the age of 30, I saw some difference in him he played a matured innings in both Tests.On the bowling front, Herath lauded seamer Suranga Lakmal, who found swing with the new ball and reverse-swing with the old one on docile surfaces, and offspinner Dilruwan Perera who complemented him.Of the bowlers, most credit should go to Suranga Lakmal because on those flat tracks, its not easy to bowl, but he bowled his heart out, he said. Even Lahiru Gamage, he gave the kind of confidence to the team and he looks a good prospect for Sri Lanka. Dilruwan (Perera) and myself, every single player contributed in some way, thats why we won the two Tests.Herath, 38, said he has not set any long-term plans, and instead looked to take it series by series. I have gained a lot of confidence in the last two series I played, taking 28 wickets against Australia and 19 against Zimbabwe, he said. I am always planning to take it series by series and try to do my best each time. Its a much easier target than planning for six to twelve months. As long as I am contributing 100 percent, its easier to continue playing for the team.Custom Baseball Jerseys China . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.baseballjerseyscustom.com/custom-arizona-diamondbacks-jerseys-cheap-76c . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Custom Cleveland Indians Jerseys Cheap . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys Cheap . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015.UCLA has talented freshmen, experienced returners and a veteran coach, but what might set the 16th-ranked Bruins apart this season is their versatility.They went from making 18 3-pointers in a 119-80 win over Pacific in the opener last week to attacking the basket when perimeter shots werent falling in a 102-87 victory over Cal State Northridge in their second game Sunday.UCLA (2-0) hosts San Diego (0-2) at 11 p.m. ET Thursday night. The Toreros, who have lost to San Diego State and Samford, dont know how UCLA will attack them, but they know the Bruins will likely be potent.When the Bruins struggled in the first half against Northridge, trailing 42-40 at halftime, UCLA coach Steve Alford urged his team to attack the basket more instead of settle for 3-point attempts. The tactic resulted in a 62-point second half in which the Bruins shot 58.8 percent and scored 30 points in the paint.At halftime, its what coach was drilling us about, just being able to take the ball hard to the basket and being aggressive, said UCLA junior center Thomas Welsh, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds.UCLA made 5 of 16 3-pointers and took just six shots from beyond the arc in the second half, a contrasting style to when it attempted 30 3-pointers and made the school-record 18 against Pacific.Two different styles. Two games with more than 100 points.UCLAs starting backcourt of Isaac Hamilton (22 points against Northridge) and Bryce Alford (15 of his 20 points in the second half) is an experienced complement to freshman standouts Lonzo Ball (13 points, eight rebounds and six assists) and T.J. Leaf (22 points and 15 rebounds against Pacific).San Diego is coming off an 83-65 loss at home against Samford on Sunday. The Toreros gave UCLA a scare last year, losing 75-68 at Pauley Pavilion. They will be hard-pressed to make that kind of threat to the Bruins again.ddddddddddddhe Toreros like to shoot the 3-pointer, like UCLA, but they made only 9 of 29 attempts against Samford. They tried seven fewer field goals within the arc, failing to solve Samfords 2/3 zone.We settled for way too many threes, said guard Olin Carter III, who led San Diego with 15 points.San Diego coach Lamont Smith, in his second year as head coach at his alma mater, is taking responsibility for how the Toreros struggled to score against Samford.We just didnt execute, he said. And thats on me. I didnt do a good enough (job) of communicating how we should attack their defense.Rebounding is another concern for San Diego, which was beat on the glass 43-29 against Samford. UCLA beat Northridge on the boards 44-31 on Sunday.San Diego point guard Nassir Barrino (14 points) was the only other Torero in double-figure scoring against Samford. He led the Toreros as well with seven rebounds.UCLA had seven players in double figures against Northridge.Two of the best players on San Diegos roster are sitting out this season after transferring. Isaiah Wright is a 6-foot-2 guard out of Utah and Isaiah Pineiro is a 6-6 wing from Portland State.While San Diego is struggling to find itself, the greatest concern for Steve Alford is finding a definitive leader among his array of talent at UCLA.Some of the guys arent fully there, fully following what weve got to do, said Alford, who expects Hamilton and his son Bryce Alford to eventually fill that leadership role. I just need them to be more vocal, whether its in their personality or not, because were a fairly quiet team.Were great guys. Were just quiet. And I need somebody to rile them up a little bit. ' ' '