Sanath Jayasuriya - Kotuwegoda Express

CRICKET: The mere sight of a bowler seemed to trigger off an allergic reaction in the man. A tug at his visor, a pat on his box, pull on his pads, fidgets a lot and settling down, throttling the neck of his bat with his bottom hand, stance alert, bat beating a tattoo on the popping crease, presenting a dark and menacing proposition to bowlers around the globe.

A new ball propelled at him seemed to release a primitive impulse in him to attack the object to its death. With steely wrists and biceps of stone the first ball would be cracked square with a characteristic short arm jab between the two sweepers at cover and the very next delivery would be swatted to a far flung rooftop.

An in-dipper would be nonchalantly flicked off his pads to some place well beyond and over the reach of deep square leg on the fence. Supremacy was established over the bowler within minutes with a few brutal strikes. Truly an exhilarating experience to watch Sanath in the mood. Seemed almost a reckless technique, frowned upon by purists and pundits.

The lightning express had started its way from the tiny hamlet of Kotuwegoda, located in the southern most seaboard of Sri Lanka, Matara being its capital. Sanath was born on the first of June 1969 barely a stones throw from the beachfront at Kotuwegoda, quaintly named Penny Quick Lane and recently re-christened as Maha Maya Lane. Sanath saw the light of day at No. 45 Penny Quick Lane and received his education at St. Servatius College, Matara, a school established by the British Missionaries in the late 18th Century, to be subsequently annexed by the Government.

Lionel Wagasinghe, then a first eleven player at St. Servatius was instrumental in floating an under XI side at the school. Sanath then about 9 years of age and hardly taller than a long handle bat, was picked to play on the strength of his precocious ability.

Quite naturally Sanath's greatest fans are his parents. Dunstan, a retired inspector at the Government Municipality and mother Breeda along with his brother Chandana.

Sanath was blossoming out by 1987, annexing the schools all-island Best Batsman and Best All rounder accolades that were on offer, no mean task taking into account the fact that his School was certainly not a fashionable seat of learning and hardly had the wherewithal to equip a cricket team.

As fate would have it Sanath whilst still at school was picked to tour Australia with the Sri Lankan under 19 team in 1985.

Following a highly successful tour down under he had the common sense to uproot himself from the backwater of Kotuwegoda and relocate himself in one of Colombo's prestigious cricket clubs - the Bloomfield Athletic and Cricket Club by which time Sanath's bowling too was showing signs of maturity, having to burden his shoulder with a fair amount of bowling, with the advent of a surfeit of limited overs Cricket.

His slow left arm orthodox spin was cunningly mixed up with a faster ball that would dart into the pads, at 90KMPH and a back-of-the-palm slower ball that was hard to detect and which could certainly tie up an end and was good enough to snare 98 Test Wickets at 34.00 and a further 316 ODI Wickets, at a miserly 4.97 per over, stats so phenomenal that he could have been picked for his bowling itself.

Debuting in Hamilton against New Zealand in the test arena in 1991, following a stuttering start, Sanath uncorked his champagne batting, operating in tandem with little Romesh Kaluwitharana, Sri Lanka's other mercurial opener, timing their climax to perfection during the 1996 World Cup in Lahore, which left a war ravaged, economically and, physiologically wounded Sri Lanka proudly holding aloft the world's most coveted plum, the Wills World Cup.

It is during this World Cup extravaganza that Sanath's prowess as a fielder was unearthed, lurking dark and menacingly somewhere at backward square leg, covering expansive territory to cut off single after single with a swooping, style all his own. Low centre of gravity and fleetness of foot over long distances, ensured that he cut off many a run in the deep as well. Over 400 catches in first class cricket is evidence enough.

Three changed face of batting

It is said that three men changed the face of batting in cricket's contemporary history. They being Bradman, Boycott, and Jayasuriya. Bradman, thirst unquenched after reaching his hundred, went for his double century and thence to his triple century with unmatched single mindedness, whereas others before him threw their wicket away after ton up.

Boycott batted with characteristic single mindedness for hour after hour, for days on end, taking the minimum of risks, was accused of even driving crowds away from the sport.

Sanath changed all that with his blistering breathtaking tonks, destroying new ball attacks across the globe, establishing supremacy over the pacies within minutes of taking guard, blasting away at a strike rate of well over 100 percent.

With the advent of Sanath, sponsors could sleep easy as he spun the turnstiles so dizzyingly. Such was the seductive effect Sanath had on the followers of the game.

About the year 1995 Sanath fell Helmet over heels in love with Sandra, marriage followed quickly and so did the runs and the couple's three precious children.

His record at the highest level is heavy laden with mountains of runs, and for the record 6,973 runs at 40.07 in 110 Tests, 13,202 runs at 32.50 in 435 ODIs at a blistering strike rate of 91.09 and, 15,000 first-class runs at 38.59 just to round things off. A dream account by any standards or over any vintage.

And as if to prove his endurance levels Sanath repelled 14 hours of temptation to notch up a monumental test best of 340 runs against India in 1997 at the Khettarama Stadium.

Sanath has thickened now, is perhaps shrewder and at 40 is still plying his trade in the shorter version of the game, enthusiasm undimmed. However, new ball bowlers across the globe would surely have breathed a sigh of relief on receipt of the news of Sanath's retirement from the Test Arena, whilst saddening fans across the globe of whatever hue.

Official rankings aside fans evaluated Jayasuriya's status in the game by the degree of pleasure attached to every run he scored and not by mechanically calculated official rankings and without doubt his many devotees have pinned him up there among the clouds. Besides they may never see the likes of him in a long while.

Rohan Wijesinghe