Full name Sangarange Don Anurasiri
Born February 25, 1966, Panadura
Current age 52 years 56 days
Major teams Sri Lanka, Panadura Sports Club
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 6s | Ct | St | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests ![]() |
18 | 22 | 5 | 91 | 24 | 5.35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
ODIs ![]() |
45 | 18 | 12 | 62 | 11 | 10.33 | 143 | 43.35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
First-class | 116 | 139 | 32 | 1396 | 74 | 13.04 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 0 | |||
List A | 56 | 21 | 13 | 105 | 28* | 13.12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests ![]() |
18 | 27 | 3973 | 1548 | 41 | 4/71 | 5/149 | 37.75 | 2.33 | 96.9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
ODIs ![]() |
45 | 43 | 2100 | 1464 | 32 | 3/40 | 3/40 | 45.75 | 4.18 | 65.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First-class | 116 | 24314 | 8313 | 418 | 8/53 | 19.88 | 2.05 | 58.1 | 33 | 9 | |||
List A | 56 | 2724 | 1855 | 39 | 4/35 | 4/35 | 47.56 | 4.08 | 69.8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Test debut | Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo (CCC), Mar 14-18, 1986 scorecard |
Last Test | Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Colombo (SSC), Jan 14-18, 1998 scorecard |
Test statistics | |
ODI debut | Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Kandy, Mar 2, 1986 scorecard |
Last ODI | India v Sri Lanka at Rajkot, Feb 15, 1994 scorecard |
ODI statistics | |
First-class span | 1984/85 - 1997/98 |
List A span | 1985/86 - 1996/97 |
A steady left-arm orthodox spinner, Don Anurasiri had a static international career. After making his international debut at the age of 20, he remained around the fringes of the team for a number of seasons without ever cementing a permanent position. Whenever called upon he was a wholehearted performer, though at Test level his bowling lacked penetration, highlighted by the fact he never took a five wicket haul in 18 Tests. Capable of extended spells of sustained accurate bowling, willing to flight and turn the ball, Anurasiri was often used to contain the batsman on unresponsive wickets. He enjoyed his most successful series against the touring Australians in 1992-93, taking 10 wickets. Anurasiri's career at the international level appeared over when he fell out with the SL board in 1994. However, four years later he made a surprise comeback against Zimbabwe in the final Test in 1997-98. Spinning the ball away from the bat he provided a solid foil for Muttiah Muralitharan, capturing 3 for 65 and 1 for 41, and in the process helped Sri Lanka to victory. But he played only three more first-class games, and within six weeks of his final Test appearance his career was over.
Johann Jayasekera