Sanath Jayasuriya by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

ST Jayasuriya

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DateLine: 17th April 2009

 

Jayasuriya became a pinch-hitter at the 1996 World Cup, and then demonstrated that he was also capable of massive scoring in Tests, eventually becoming Sri Lanka's highest Test run-scorer. He is dangerous, especially on the subcontinent's slower, less bouncy surfaces. Short in stature and powerfully built, he cuts and pulls with awesome power. on song he can be virtually unstoppable, capable of scoring freely on both sides of the wicket. Jayasuriya is also an extremely effective and canny left-arm spinner, especially in one-day internationals where his stock leg-stump darts are mixed up with clever variations in pace. Jayasuriya served commendably as Sri Lanka's captain for a successful tenure after the sacking of Arjuna Ranatunga in 1999. His leadership style was consensual and he soon built a happy and unified team. The huge responsibility of leading the team, though, started to show and after the 2003 World Cup he resigned in April 2003.

 

In the Indian Oil Cup in 2005, Jayasuriya became only the fourth batsman to get to 10,000 runs in one-day cricket. At the age of 38, Jayasuriya scored 467 runs during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and was the oldest player in the World Twenty20 that followed in South Africa. He called time on his Test career during the first Test against England in Kandy in 2007-08, and bowed out with a cracking 78 in his final innings. On January 2009, during the first ODI against India, he became the second man to cross 13,000 ODI runs, and at 39 years and 212 days the oldest man to score an ODI century.