Jeevantha Kulatunga

Jeevantha Kulatunga was the surprise selection for Sri Lanka's Twenty20 squad for the Canada Cup in October 2008, aged 34, but it followed several outstanding domestic seasons. His all-round abilities as an innovative and mentally resilient middle-order batsman capable of playing under pressure, as well as being a wily seam bowler, gave him the edge over less experienced rivals. Sri Lanka's selectors were attracted by his specialist limited-over skills and his huge experience as they tried to strengthen the middle order. He later graduated up the order in T20 cricket for Wayamba, the domestic T20 champions in both 2009 and 2010, carving out a reputation for being one of the most destructive match-winners. In the 2010 season, he finished the third-highest scorer with 277 runs at 69.25 including a 152.19 run strike rate. He was also the first Sri Lankan to score a T20 hundred in domestic cricket and was named Player of the Tournament.

Kulatunga made his first-class debut in 1990-91 at the age of 17 for Kurunegala Youth CC, scoring 64, and was soon grabbed by the club he scored those runs against - Colts Cricket Club, for whom he has played ever since. With players in the calibre of Romesh Kaluwitharana, Sajith Fernando, Thilan Samaraweera and Chaminda Mendis to bat ahead of him Kulatunga became more or less a permanent fixture at No 5. In 2001 he got his first big break when he was picked to represent a Sri Lanka Board President's XI against England at Matara and he scored a half-century. He secured occasional appearances in the Sri Lanka A team, playing against Pakistan and India, but failed to secure a permanent berth as the selectors then embarked on a youth policy that left several outstanding players in their late 20s with too few opportunities. Instead, he forged a successful career playing in the English leagues during the off season, playing for Barnoldswick CC in the Lancashire Leagues from 2002. However, several years of outstanding performances, especially in limited overs and T20 cricket, propelled him back into contention for the national team by late 2008..
Charlie Austin October 2009