Men Who Will Own The Cup: Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews was fielding at long-on in a round-robin match of the 2009 World T20 when a Ramnaresh Sarwan heave flew towards him.

The Sri Lankan crept until his heels neared the rope and then stretched up, arching, to claim the ball in his palms. Still, Sarwan's shot had too much on it. As momentum carried Mathews over the rope, he tossed the ball a few metres in the air. When it threatened to come down beyond the boundary, making null his good work, he went at the ball a second time, flinging himself horizontally, like a volleyball player digging out a spike. He would slap the ball back infield to save three runs. It was the 1.5 seconds after he held Sarwan's catch that would underline the most important theme of his cricket: clarity and precision under duress. Nine days later, Mathews would take three wickets in an over to help secure Sri Lanka's passage to the final, and since, it has been difficult to imagine the team without him.

To watch him now, five years on, is to see talent fully realised. The early days were a steady beat of supporting contributions: a handy three wickets here, an important fifty there. Then clangs of percussion that gave glimpses of greatness. His 77 not out in an ODI at the MCG in 2010 hauled Sri Lanka out of an abyss and set them on track for their first series win of any kind in Australia. The 80 not out against Pakistan in Colombo in 2012 saw Sri Lanka reel Pakistan in with two balls to spare.

In 2014, 10 months after being named captain, Mathews has hit world cricket with an intense, all-format, yearlong crescendo. An outstanding tour of the UAE was followed by a fine Asia Cup, then came a year crammed with highlights. A hundred at Lord's helped eke a draw in the first Test against England, before a 160 while batting with the tail at Headingley transformed the series in an afternoon. Yet all through his journey, it has been his ability to shut out the noise that has defined him. When a chase is afoot or a tall task at hand, Mathews blots the universe out and homes in on the next ball.

Team-mates Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are big-picture people, constantly conversant with the fans who validate their talents and the nation that brought them forth. But Mathews is made of simpler stuff. He is a man of the moment. He sees only the job--and seeks to do it at any cost. He is working on widening his scope as a captain, but he knows tunnel vision towards the end of a limited-overs innings has been an asset.

"In those challenging situations, I always think: 'If I can do this for the team, I will be the man on that day,'" Mathews says. "I've enjoyed those tough challenges so far. I have the belief that if I'm there until the last ball, I can win the game for Sri Lanka. That's my mindset when I go to the crease."

And that mindset on arrival has mirrored the tune of his career. Rarely in an ODI does Mathews begin with a flourish. He is happy to use up balls and overs getting in; he invests without reservation. In the early years of his career, those long, slow notes at the beginning of his innings had been evidence of inertia. But lately, when he has begun to turn in big scores more often, his acceleration is swift and skilful.

Short balls speed to the fence off the pull. Full ones are launched high and straight. Mathews' maiden ODI ton in November laid out his approach clearly. The first 45 runs used up 75 balls. Then he plundered 94 off the next 44. The captaincy has undoubtedly unlocked untold dimensions in his own cricket, but Mathews is adamant that his effect on the team dynamic is minimal. After all, Sri Lanka's impressive recent run at global events had begun before Mathews had even debuted, let alone taken the reins.

He is stubborn enough to believe any match is winnable, but others were single-minded before him, he says. "I've been in some good fights, but that fighting spirit is not something I have to plant in the team because they already have that. They don't believe in losing until the last ball is bowled. That's the attitude we've created in ourselves and what we want to take to every match, including the World Cup."

Just as he has recently been unshakable at the crease, Mathews has also been stoic in victory, and defeat. A historic series win against England did not elicit talk of sky-high confidence or bustling momentum, just as the historic 5-0 loss in India did not spark panic about the World Cup campaign. Sri Lanka have rarely been the form side heading into a global tournament, yet they consistently outpunch the heavies. Mathews has been part of enough global tournament campaigns to know this.

"When we play a big tournament, we always keep fighting until the last ball is bowled," he says. "You can say all sorts of things about having that fight, but we've actually done that and showed ourselves and the world that we're that kind of team. The New Zealand game in Bangladesh, in that T20 World Cup, when Rangana Herath took that five wickets, is an example. That was an amazing game. We got only 120 runs, but we turned it around."

There are no storied rivalries in cricket for Sri Lanka. No past golden age or landmark series. What they do have is the memory of their underdog victory in the 1996 World Cup. For 19 years now, they have been chasing a repeat.

There is power in the top order this time and unorthodoxy in the attack, but there is no doubt Sri Lanka are outgunned. They may not blast out the more fancied teams in the tournament, but they can out-mettle them at the big moments. With Mathews at the helm, that seems just fine.