The modest masterblaster calls time
It was an exit that brought to mind Mike Atherton's sheepish departure at The Oval in 2001. No-one knew for sure that this was his final innings in Test cricket, but the way Sanath Jayasuriya shyly saluted his standing ovation was telling in the extreme
Andrew Miller in Kandy
03-Dec-2007
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It was an exit that brought to mind Mike Atherton's sheepish departure
at The Oval in 2001. No-one knew for sure that this was his final
innings in Test cricket, but the way Sanath Jayasuriya shyly saluted
his standing ovation was telling in the extreme.
As he reached the rope after a pugnacious 78, he was met with a pat on
the shoulder and a semi-embrace by the incoming batsman, Kumar
Sangakkara, before Sri Lanka's uber-fan, Percy Abeysekera, chaperoned
him to the pavilion steps beneath a giant national flag. The tongues
had been set a-wagging and moments after the close came the
confirmation we'd been expecting.
"This is the right time to retire," Jayasuriya confirmed. He had bowed
out on this ground once before, against Pakistan in April 2006, when a
nasty broken finger quite literally forced his hand. Though he reneged
on that decision - with some success - in England later that year,
this time, at the age of 38, there will be no coming back "There are
some young guys coming up, and I wanted to go while on top," he said.
"Life without cricket will be tough, but I will still be playing
one-day cricket and contributing to the team."
On a day dominated by Muttiah Muralitharan, Jayasuriya signed off with
a performance as full of fireworks as the hills around the ground that
saluted his team-mate's world record. He fell short of his farewell
century, but then Jayasuriya - possibly uniquely among specialist
batsmen - has never relied on hundreds to get his point across. With
forearms like pistons, he has bullied England's bowlers almost since
the dawn of modern batsmanship. Spanking cameos have been his calling
card, and rarely have they gone unnoticed.
The statistics tell you that Jayasuriya has been a fading force in
Test match cricket - this was only his second half-century in 16 Tests
stretching back to November 2004. The mind's eye tells you he was as
dangerous in his final dig as he had been in his pomp, more than a
decade ago, at the 1996 World Cup. James Anderson certainly won't
forget the fury of his blade in a hurry - his fourth over was thrashed
for six consecutive fours, only the third occasion that has been
achieved in the history of Test cricket.
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Sure, there was a chance in among those blows, as Ian Bell had his
hair parted by a sizzling edge through the slips, but that is
Jayasuriya's game through and through. No-one has ever hit on the up
with such alacrity - who else could make a six over point their staple
scoring shot? It's part of the reason why his game has never been so
suited to Tests, for chances are obligatory when he's at the crease.
It's also the reason why he will be missed now that he's gone. He made
things happen. Constantly.
England, as is so often the case, have been the victims of his most
devastating assaults. His ballistic 82 from 44 balls in the
quarter-final against England transformed the parameters of one-day
cricket - and set his side on course for their greatest triumph. His
double-century at The Oval two years later was the performance that turned
the Test on its head and paved the way for Murali's subsequent
16-wicket masterclass. And at Colombo three years ago, Jayasuriya
flogged an exhausted attack for a quickfire 85, a cameo that was once again forgotten in the final reckoning as England tumbled to their
third-heaviest defeat in history.
Today he finally called it quits. Michael Vandort will have a new
partner at Kandy, most probably Upul Tharanga, who has himself been in
the runs against England on this tour already. But somehow you know
that the threat will not be the same when the teams line up at the SSC
next week. As Murali marches on to ever greater heights, a fellow Sri
Lankan legend leaves quietly by the side exit. It's arguably his
quietest performance in a raucous career.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo