There will never be another Jayasuriya

There are cricketers who come once in a life time. Like Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Vivian Richards and Sachin Tendulkar. And Sri Lanka’s ‘black superman’ Sanath Jayasuriya belongs to that rare category.

Learning his basics in the game at St. Servatius, Matara, he blossomed into the big league and on a tour of Pakistan with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, where he reeled off two double hundreds served notice that he has arrived on the scene.

It is said that you can’t keep a good man down. Continuing that good batting form on his return, he nudged the selectors who had no alternative, but to plonk him into the national team.

From the moment he sported the national cap, he did so with great pride, setting up record after record with his superhuman feats with the willow. He has thrilled cricket fans where ever he plied his trade and crowds packed the arenas to watch this cricketing gladiator at play.

From out of this world

From the moment he took strike in the big time, he has continued to deliver and some of the strokes he plays are from out of this world. The pull and the square cut which are his signature shots sail over the boundary as if they were rocket launched.

At naughty forty, when most cricketers would have quit, Jayasuriya continues to defy age, being supremely fit and still continues to thrill with his all round magic in the game.

I have been on many tours with the cricket team and can vouch for the great esteem that he is held. I have also seen him play some wonderful knocks that have held spectators spellbound.

When Jayasuriya was dropped and brought back, he made a tour to Australia for a triangular. In the lift to the Sydney Cricket Ground media box, I met Mark Nicholas, now a highly respected TV commentator and asked him whether Jayasuriya was playing.

The champion at work

Nicholas replied in the affirmative, but apparently upset that the champion was playing said that Jayasuriya would be out without scoring. But what happened where Jayasuriya began to unwind with a vengeance and bang especially Glen McGrath and Brett Lee all over the Sydney ground and over it as well would certainly have had Nicholas eating his own words and red in the face.

Jayasuriya made one, if not the best three figure score seen at this hallowed ground and did not the Aussie spectators and the Lankans domiciled in kangaroo land enjoy the show put up by Jayasuriya and talk of this unbelievable knock long after the game had ended.

On that tour I was in the company of Nishantha Sumanadasa, his wife Nayana, Selva Saverimuttu and Omar Shariff, the former University and Sri Lanka ruggerite and did we not like all others marvel at the Jayasuriya innings which was 24 carat gold.

The greatest

Little wonder then that Wisden cricket writers Don Cameron of New Zealand and Scyld Berry, Editor of Wisden scripted Sanath Teran Jayasuriya as the GREATEST 50 over cricketer ever.

Cameron and Berry highly respected writers have been in the scene for long and know what they are talking about.

This is how Cameron described Jayasuriya: ‘I have chosen Jayasuriya because he has led Sri Lanka cricket for close on half of his 40 years, and whether blasting centuries or fiddling batsmen out with his subtle left-arm slows, plays cricket with a smile on his face and magic in his fingers. From a personal point of view he is a cricket writer’s dream’.

Scyld Berry: ‘In the past, batting was defensive and bowling was attacking. Now, as a generalization, it is the other was round. And no body has done more to bring about this change than Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya, to my mind the greatest 50-over cricketer’.

Bad patch

Jayasuriya is also human and like all great batsmen do at some time of their careers run into a lean period with the bat. And Jayasuriya at the moment is experiencing this run drought.

But that does not mean that the selectors should write him off. He is sure to come good before long - at the time of writing - which is on the eve of Sri Lanka-India Compac Cup game, would have regained his form and regaled with his magic.

Kumar Sangakkara who is aware of what champion Jayasuriya is capable of is batting for him and saying that he is too good to be failing and should come good soon and until such time would give him the opportunities to regain his firing form.That’s what a captain is all about having confidence in his team mates.

But what is amazing in Jayasuriya is that when he fails with the bat he has the knack of coming good with the ball or bringing off that match winning catch or run out. And this he proved in the game against New Zealand where he failed with the willow, but came good with the ball.

Roshan and Arun comment

Sri Lanka’s up and coming TV commentator Roshan Abeysinghe and India’s former cricketer Arun Lall who is one of the versatile TV commentators did right in singing the praises of Jayasuriya during the Sri Lanka-New Zealand game on Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium.Roshan and Arun drew reference to the record number of one day games he has figured in - 436 and will soon add more to it, the 13 thousand odd runs he has scored and the over 300 wickets he had scalped.

Now these achievements are once in a life time and not easily attempted or achieved and all Sri Lanka and the cricket world would be marvelling at this wonder by this likeable and unassuming lad from Matara who has stunned the cricket world.

Roshan and Arun like did Cameron and Berry, say that there is no doubt that Jayasuriya is the greatest 50 over cricketer that this or the next world will see.The ‘black superman’ deserves the encomiums.