Sanath Jayasuriya Wallpapers | Part 1

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All Stars banking on Jayasuriya fireworks | Hong Kong Sixes

Sri Lankan great faces compatriots in clash of the day

Sri Lanka star Sanath Jayasuriya once played second fiddle to compatriots Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga at the Hong Kong Sixes in the early 1990s but he is expected to hog the limelight at Kowloon Cricket Club this weekend.

Jayasuriya will not be in the colours of his country, but for the All Stars in the US$200,000 tournament.

"I don't remember when exactly I played here. It was a long time ago, in the early days," Jayasuriya said after a short training session yesterday.

Then, he walked in the shadow of De Silva and Ranatunga. But all that has changed, ever since the 1996 World Cup triumph over Australia when Jayasuriya made his mark as the pinch-hitter to transform the nature of one-day cricket.

Now pushing 40, Jayasuirya is also still pushing the boundaries. He was one of the stars in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai and last month spearheaded Sri Lanka to victory over Pakistan in the final of a Twenty20 tournament in Canada.

"I have given up test cricket and only play the short form of the game now. I have no regrets at all and I'm still enjoying myself hugely," Jayasuriya said. "I'm really looking forward to the Sixes."

All Star captain Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand skipper, is hoping his two teammates from Sri Lanka - fast bowler Chaminda Vaas is also in the side - will lead the way in batting and bowling.

"If they don't bowl like they used to bowl to me, or bat the way they used to bat when I was fielding against them, I will be disappointed," Fleming said. "Sanath Jayasuriya haunted me when I was playing and Chaminda Vaas used to get me out with his eyes shut, so if we don't get wickets and runs, then I'll be upset."

The pair will face their countrymen and defending champions Sri Lanka in a mouthwatering clash this afternoon. "It will be kind of strange playing against my country," Jayasuriya said.

Sri Lanka, led by Indika de Saram, have come back with four players who were part of the Cup-winning team last year. Apart from their skipper, the others are Jeewantha Kulatunga, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Dilhara Lokuhettige.

"We have got a strong squad of all-rounders, five of whom bowl medium-pacers with one off-spinner. These guys are all in good form, having played in a Twenty20 tournament back home recently," said manager Ranil Abeynaike. "This tournament is being shown live in Sri Lanka and the public are expecting the boys to do well again."

The All Stars, Sri Lanka, Australia and hosts Hong Kong are in one group, while the other comprises India, Pakistan, England and South Africa. The top two from each group enter the Cup competition tomorrow. "We are in a tough draw, but I expect us to do very well," said England skipper Dimitri Mascarenhas. "We have a good all round side with a number of young blokes who are all keen to do well."

So long Sanath !! | A View on Sanath Jayasuriya's Retirement form Test Cricket

Sanath Jayasuriya was not the most elegant cricketer of all time. Yet he was was great athlete. He was not classical by any stretch of the imagination, and yet he had a lot of class. Whats more, he performed one of the most specialized roles in a cricket team - that of opening the batting. This exalted position, which in Rohan Kanhai's opinion was the domain of only the very brave and slightly mad batsmen, was occupied with great distinction by this marauding powerhouse from Matara. Jayasuriya began his career as a lower middle order spin bowling all rounder. He batted at number 6 or 7, and among his early scores were half centuries against Pakistan and South Africa - two of the best bowling attacks of the early 1990's. He was soon promoted to open the batting, and made a century at Adelaide in only his 3rd Test as opener. From then on, he was a fixture at the top of the Sri Lankan order and made nearly six thousand test runs as an opener at a healthy average of 41.48. He made test hundreds in Australia, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. India and Pakistan were his favorite opponents and he made nearly two thousand of his 6973 Test runs against these two nations. Jayasuriya was one of the mainstays of the Sri Lankan Test line up for almost 15 years. As good as he was in Test cricket, it was One Day Cricket which gave him his stature and his fame. He was a pioneer of modern ODI batting at the top of the order. With his powerful bottom hand and brilliant eye he could loft any length anywhere at his best. He was impossible to bowl to as many bowlers around the world will testify and there was no area of the ground which he ignored. He played spin brilliantly inspite of his predominantly bottom handed method. His ability to square cut spinners and pacemen alike off a good length outside off-stump enabled him to hit good balls for four. Indeed, Jayasuriya changed the definition of a good delivery in One Day Cricket. Many other batsmen followed his lead. He had a distinctive superstitious method of preperation as he set himself to face up to the bowler. He tugged at all his equipment as if to remind to protect him as he went into battle with the bowler. Usually it was a worried bowler and even more worried fielding captain that he went into battle with. His little superstitious routine also drove many bowlers to distraction, but it was part of the Jayasuriya legend. It is difficult to pinpoint any one great innings in such a long and illustrious career. Jayasuriya's record speaks for itself. With 12,207 ODI runs and 6973 Test runs, made with the aid of 39 international hundreds, all of them at breakneck speed there is little doubt that he was one of the most important cricketers of the contemporary era. Add to this his underrated bowling which brought him 307 ODI wickets and 98 Test wickets, and it is easy to realise why Sri Lanka valued him so much, especially in the ODI game, where he gave Sri Lankan captains that extra option. His bowling was central to Sri Lanka's well oiled spin bowling strategy which caused them to go undefeated for a period of 5 years in ODI games where they had more than 250 to defend with Murali in their ranks. Jayasuriya and other bowlers would bowl around Murali. They could not match Murali's wicket taking genius, but were not easy to score off.


Sri Lanka will miss his all round prowess. That his retirement from Test cricket was eventually a happy, match winning occasion (match winning thanks largely to Jayasuriya's brilliant 78 in the Sri Lankan second innings at Kandy) is a fitting tribute to the man who by his very play confirmed Sri Lanka's place at the cricketing top table in the mid 1990's. As he walked off, escorted by Percy Abysekera, Sri Lanka and world cricket will wonder if they will ever see his type again. Actually, they may. He gave legitimacy to a belligerent method, which spawned a whole generation of batsmen all over the world who sought to play like him. But then again, may be not. The original as they say, is one of a kind.... We will miss you Sanny :(

- Sujan Rao (sanath189)

Srilanka's Tour of Zimbabwe 2008 | Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya rested say selectors

With reference to the articles that appeared in the some newspapers about the Zimbabwe tour selections, the national selection cricket committee has issued the following statement, according to a Sri Lanka Cricket Media release.

“We the national selectors would like to clarify that we decided to rest Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas for the Zimbabwe tour 2008 which will enable us to groom some young players for the future.”

Sports Editor’s note: We wonder who’s fooling who, because reports indicate that the “rested” Jayasuriya will have no rest at all, being contracted to play in the Hong Kong Sixes tournament and the South African domestic cricket tournament for the team Nausha Dolphins, instead of playing for the national team. If Jayasuriya was not picked in order to replace him with younger players then the word that should be used is not “rest” but “drop”. We would very much like a clarification on that matter as well.