Sri Lanka’s rise in international cricket has been quite astounding, probably surprising even themselves. Just over a decade after their test debut they won the World Cup, historically toppling Australia in the final.
They have produced a number of talented cricketers over the years; Aravinda De Silva, their first world class batsman; Muttiah Muralitharan, the off-spin wizard; Mahela Jayawardene, probably their best captain; Kumar Sangakarra, one of histories greatest keeper/batsmen; and Chaminda Vaas.
Vaas made his debut against a Pakistan line-up featuring the rampant Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, and his test debut passed without notice, taking no wickets and making 0 and 4. His next test he took 4 wickets, and he became their strike bowler from that point on.
His test bowling record reads 319 wickets at 29.21 with a strike rate of 65.6 and an economy rate of 2.66. While not brilliant, an average under 30 is generally quite good, especially from a nation still establishing itself as a cricket power.
He also doubles as an accomplished all-rounder, with a test century and a batting average of 23.54. If you point out the fact that he has never really had a world class opening partner and that he is often burdened with a large workload (Along with Murali), Vass’ figures are quite remarkable.
Unfortunately it seems he is often underrated because of his lack of histronics and simple bowling method. As Lasith Malinga was hyped up for the previous Australian series in 2004, it was Vaas who landed the telling blows, taking 5/31 in the first test off 18.3 overs.
He is, to this day, the only bowler in ODI history to take eight wickets in an innings, with his 8/19 against Zimbabwe which included a hat-trick. He is the most prolific bowler in Sri Lanka’s history after Murali. No other bowler apart from this pair have taken more than a hundred wickets at test level. Only Sanath Jayasuria joins them in the 300 club of wickets in ODIs.
People are all talking about Murali’s record this series, about Malinga’s pace, about Dilhan Fernando’s chance to shine.
Without Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka’s record in recent times would never have been quite as good as you would think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment