Cricketing legend Mahela Jayawardene to grace the occasion

Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka captain and cricketing legend has been referred to as a big game player, which means that he is the man for the big occasion.

Where he performs best is on the big stage and during his illustrious career there have been many such innings he has played none better than the century he scored in the 2011 World Cup final against India at Mumbai. Jayawardene now retired from international cricket will be on the big stage once again for the 38th Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Awards night on Tuesday September 20 at the Galadari Hotel where he will deliver the customary speech and then present the top awards to budding school cricketers who have been selected for their outstanding performances during the 2015-16 season.

Jayawardene’s name is synonymous with Sri Lanka cricket for his masterful batsmanship and the amount of joy he brought to the world of cricket with his expert technique that oozed with class. He was the lynchpin of the Sri Lankan batting line-up for nearly two decades and with Kumar Sangakkara holds almost every batting record for the country across all formats including the world record partnership of 624 with Sangakarra, the highest for any wicket in first-class cricket, a landmark that stands undimmed by the passage of time.

A prolific run-scorer, a shrewd thinker of the game and a sharp fielder, Jayawardene is one of the finest cricketers, the country has produced and his achievements have been recognized by the international cricketing fraternity when in 2006 he was named the ICC Captain of the Year and the captain of the World ODI team of the year and won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award in 2013. In 2007 he was named one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year.