Thilan Samaraweera Profile

Thilan Samaraweera

Thilan Samaraweera's batting will not fill a stadium; yet, in a batting line-up of flamboyant strokeplayers, his patience and solidity offers a vital balancing factor. In his second avatar he has added more strokes to make his batting more well-rounded, but what Samaraweera does best is wear bowlers down through patient and relentless accumulation. His batting is built around reserves of resilience, determination and sheer toughness, and he had to draw into them all to overcome the trauma of cricket's darkest hours - the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

 Samaraweera will forever be remembered for not letting a bullet injury end his international career. He was in his best form, having scored two consecutive double-centuries in Pakistan, when his team bus came under fire in March 2009 and a bullet penetrated 12 inches into his left thigh. He needed surgery and spent three months dealing with the physical and mental wounds of his ordeal. That Samaraweera returned to play his 50th Test in July was a triumph of his strength of character. His return was a second coming after he had begun his career with a hundred on debut against India in 2001.

 The retirements of Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne gave Samaraweera a run in the middle order but indifferent form in 2006 led to him being dropped. He returned 18 months later, a more aggressive, prolific batsman and yet remained as solid as he was before, reigniting his career with a century against India in July 2008. It was the beginning of a purple patch which continued even after his run-in with gunmen. Despite all the runs Samaraweera has scored, question-marks remain due to his relative lack of success outside the subcontinent. The extent to which he rectifies that statistic will probably decide where Samaraweera will rank among the Sri Lankan greats.

Full name Thilan Thusara Samaraweera

Born September 22, 1976, Colombo

Current age 35 years 33 days

Major teams Sri Lanka, Colts Cricket Club, Kandurata, Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka Board President's XI

Playing role Batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	68	108	19	4683	231	52.61	9767	47.94	12	27	548	7	40	0
ODIs	53	42	11	862	105*	27.80	1244	69.29	2	0	76	0	17	0
First-class	231	325	59	12901	231	48.50			33	65			184	0
List A	172	127	36	2948	105*	32.39			2	16			59	0
Twenty20	16	15	2	436	70	33.53	315	138.41	0	4	51	11	3	0

Bowling averages

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	68	33	1315	686	15	4/49	6/67	45.73	3.13	87.6	1	0	0
ODIs	53	17	702	542	11	3/34	3/34	49.27	4.63	63.8	0	0	0
First-class	231		17560	8194	349	6/55		23.47	2.79	50.3		15	2
List A	172		4669	3114	109	7/30	7/30	28.56	4.00	42.8	0	2	0
Twenty20	16	3	56	57	3	3/17	3/17	19.00	6.10	18.6	0	0	0

Career statistics

 

Test debut	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC), Aug 29-Sep 2, 2001
Last Test	Sri Lanka v Australia at Pallekele, Sep 8-12, 2011

ODI debut	India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Nov 6, 1998
Last ODI	India v Sri Lanka at Mumbai, Apr 2, 2011

First-class debut	1995/96
Last First-class	Sri Lanka v Australia at Pallekele, Sep 8-12, 2011
List A debut	1995/96
Last List A	India v Sri Lanka at Mumbai, Apr 2, 2011
Twenty20 debut	Burgher Recreation Club v Sinhalese Sports Club at Colombo (NCC), Aug 17, 2004
Last Twenty20	Ruhuna v Wayamba at Colombo (RPS), Jul 31, 2011

Lasith Malinga Profile

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga was the surprise selection for Sri Lanka's tour to Australia in 2004, though he had a fearsome reputation on the domestic circuit. Malinga bowls with a distinctive and explosive round-arm action which generates genuine pace and can disconcert batsmen who struggle to pick up the ball's trajectory. Already, he is rated the fastest bowler in Sri Lanka. His first performance in Sri Lankan colours was also impressive - he took 6 for 90 against a Northern Territory Chief Minister's XI. That paved the way for his inclusion in the Test team, and he acquitted himself quite well too, dismissing Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist in the same over.

During an impressive tour of New Zealand in April 2005 his low-slung action resulted in the New Zealand batsmen asking the umpire to change the colour of their trousers as the ball was getting lost. He is developing into Sri Lanka's key pace-bowling wicket-taker, especially as Chaminda Vaas continues to lose pace. Although he remains quite erratic and has a propensity to bowl no-balls, he is a genuine strike bowler, with both new ball and old, and one has the out-and-out pace to trouble the best batsmen on his day. His development as an all-round bowler was confirmed when he was the leading wicket-taker in the one-day series against England. He continued to impress in the Champions Trophy and on tour in New Zealand - where his yorkers made many batsmen hop around.

He established himself as a regular in the playing XI after an impressive World Cup in 2007, with 18 wickets at 15.77 from eight matches as Sri Lanka made it to the final. One of the moments of the tournament was Malinga's four in four against South Africa - the first time a bowler had taken four wickets off successive deliveries in international cricket. However, Malinga was largely ineffective during Sri Lanka's two Tests in Australia and the subsequent home series against England.

A knee injury picked up during the Australia tour in 2007 threatened to cut short Malinga's career, however, and he only played one-day cricket until July 2010. But after appearing in the first two Tests against India, his knee could not take the strain and he did not play the final Test of that series. In April 2011, he decided to end his Test career to spare his knee further damage. The decision to save himself for limited-overs cricket appeared to be justified when he became the first bowler to take three one-day international hat tricks, dismissing Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Xavier Doherty in successive deliveries in the final game of the home ODI series against Australia later the same year.

Profile

Full name Separamadu Lasith Malinga

Born August 28, 1983, Galle

Current age 28 years 57 days

Major teams Sri Lanka, BCCSL Academy XI, Galle Cricket Club, Kent, Mumbai Indians, Nondescripts Cricket Club, Ruhuna

Also known as Separamadu Lasith Malinga Swarnajith

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast

Batting and Fielding Averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	30	37	13	275	64	11.45	619	44.42	0	1	36	6	7	0
ODIs	94	44	14	281	56	9.36	360	78.05	0	1	22	11	13	0
T20Is	30	12	7	63	27	12.60	63	100.00	0	0	3	3	13	0
First-class	83	100	41	584	64	9.89	1439	40.58	0	1			23	0
List A	145	76	22	436	56	8.07			0	1			21	0
Twenty20	94	28	14	144	37*	10.28	122	118.03	0	0	7	10	25	0

Bowling averages

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	30	59	5209	3349	101	5/50	9/210	33.15	3.85	51.5	7	3	0
ODIs	94	90	4534	3730	149	6/38	6/38	25.03	4.93	30.4	5	4	0
T20Is	30	30	612	743	37	3/12	3/12	20.08	7.28	16.5	0	0	0
First-class	83		11867	7751	255	6/17		30.39	3.91	46.5	16	7	0
List A	145		6940	5735	237	6/38	6/38	24.19	4.95	29.2	8	5	0
Twenty20	94	91	2005	2228	124	5/13	5/13	17.96	6.66	16.1	2	1	0

Career statistics

 

Test debut	Australia v Sri Lanka at Darwin, Jul 1-3, 2004
Last Test	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS), Aug 3-7, 2010

ODI debut	Sri Lanka v United Arab Emirates at Dambulla, Jul 17, 2004
Last ODI	Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), Aug 22, 2011

T20I debut	England v Sri Lanka at Southampton, Jun 15, 2006
Last T20I	England v Sri Lanka at Bristol, Jun 25, 2011

First-class debut	2001/02
Last First-class	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS), Aug 3-7, 2010
List A debut	2001/02
Last List A	Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), Aug 22, 2011
Twenty20 debut	Nondescripts Cricket Club v Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club at Colombo (Moors), Aug 17, 2004
Last Twenty20	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians at Chennai, Oct 9, 2011

Tillakaratne Dilshan Profile

Tillakaratne Dilshan

With his relentless aggression, strong wrists and natural timing, Tillakaratne Dilshan is one of the most exciting batsmen in the game today. He is technically sound, but, much like Virender Sehwag, he uses the defensive option only as a last resort, after all the attacking alternatives have been explored. He loves to make room and thrash the ball through the off side, but the stroke that bears his signature more than any other is the one he developed for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 - the eponymously named "Dilscoop" shot over his head, which confounded bowlers and experts alike.

In fact, 2009 was a watershed year in his career, and a huge factor was his move up the batting order to open the innings in all three forms of the game. It was a move that proved his making, as he exploited attacking fields and amassed huge scores in all formats: he scored 11 international hundreds in the year, and won the World Twenty20 Player of the Series prize.

Dilshan's abundant talent was never in doubt from the moment he made his debut, but he went through several early troughs, most notably when he was dropped from 2001 to 2003. Having burst onto the international scene with an unbeaten 163 against Zimbabwe in his first series in November 1999, Dilshan's career remained largely unfulfilled until he cemented his place as one of the most destructive openers in the modern era. Add his electric fielding, especially at backward point, and his underrated offspin, and Dilshan is a quality package. In 2011 he was named as Sri Lanka's captain, after the resignation of Kumar Sangakkara.

Profile

Full name Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan

Born October 14, 1976, Kalutara

Current age 35 years 9 days

Major teams Sri Lanka, Asia XI, Basnahira South, Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Delhi Daredevils, Kalutara Town Club, Northern Districts, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club, Singha Sports Club

Also known as Tuwan Mohamad Dilshan

Playing role Allrounder

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Fielding position Wicket keeper

Batting an fielding Avegares

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	72	115	11	4410	193	42.40	6712	65.70	12	18	543	20	75	0
ODIs	214	190	30	5616	160	35.10	6422	87.44	10	23	579	35	89	1
T20Is	34	33	6	866	104*	32.07	691	125.32	1	5	104	17	14	2
First-class	209	338	22	12376	200*	39.16			33	51			339	23
List A	309	279	43	8943	188	37.89			17	43			167	8
Twenty20	97	94	13	2203	104*	27.19	1777	123.97	1	15	263	52	40	3

Bowling Averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	72	54	2012	983	24	4/10	4/10	40.95	2.93	83.8	1	0	0
ODIs	214	122	3385	2684	63	4/4	4/4	42.60	4.75	53.7	3	0	0
T20Is	34	13	138	177	4	2/4	2/4	44.25	7.69	34.5	0	0	0
First-class	209		4732	2298	68	5/49		33.79	2.91	69.5		1	0
List A	309		4745	3669	98	4/4	4/4	37.43	4.63	48.4	4	0	0
Twenty20	97	48	619	708	25	3/16	3/16	28.32	6.86	24.7	0	0	0

Career statistics

 

Test debut Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Bulawayo, Nov 18-22, 1999 

Last Test Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi, Oct 18-22, 2011

 
ODI debut Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Bulawayo, Dec 11, 1999 

Last ODI Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), Aug 22, 2011 

T20I debut England v Sri Lanka at Southampton, Jun 15, 2006

Last T20I Sri Lanka v Australia at Pallekele, Aug 8, 2011  

First-class debut 1993/94

Last First-class Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi, Oct 18-22, 2011

List A debut 1996/97

Last List A Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), Aug 22, 2011 

Twenty20 debut Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club v Police Sports Club at Colombo (Colts), Aug 17, 2004 

Last Twenty20 Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians at Chennai, Oct 9, 2011