Jayawardene - a natural, pure and simple

By S. Dinakar

COLOMBO, AUG. 27. You watch certain players, even for a brief while, and then you know it. They are special.

Mahela Jayawardene is one such cricketer. Oozing with class, he can turn things around, win matches for his team. A natural, pure and simple.

No wonder he remembers holding a cricket bat when he was just two years old. An in-born ability fuelled by a passion for the game have made him one of the brightest shining stars in the Lankan cricketing firmament.

Things have happened quickly for him. He was a part of the National under-19 and `A' teams, before making his Test debut against India at the Premadasa Stadium in '97.

A Test where Sri Lanka notched up a phenomenal 952 for six before declaring the innings, with Jayawardene coming in at No. 4, making a brisk 66. More than his runs, he remembers the dressing room atmosphere. ``I was lucky to be in the company of so many senior cricketers. Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Manahama, Sanath Jayasuriya. I was young, but they made me feel comfortable.''

'I just want to be myself'

A short, small structured middle-order batsman, Jayawardene has the wristy elegance, that is completely sub-continental - when he cuts, he often does so late, and when he glances, it's very fine. ``I just want to be myself. It's difficult trying to be like others,'' he told The Hindu, here, on Monday.

The dashing right-hander says he is playing the same way he did in school. ``Of course it's another level, but it still is the same game. In international cricket, they make it harder to score, keep in tight, but at end of the day it is all about making runs. I like to play my shots.''

However, Jayawardene can also leave his supporters infuriated, giving it all away after coasting into the 30s. He has more than 2,000 runs in 32 Tests, averages over 40s, yet, given his talent, it could have been even better.

``This could be because of the expectations. Most people expect me to do well all the time. And when I don't carry on after getting a start they are disappointed. I have at times let myself down a bit also. I am working on this. The last six months have been good for me,'' he is frank.

Jayawardene's scintillating hundred in the Kandy Test, his sixth, had all the elements of the Lankan's exotic batsmanship - sure feet movement, the gift of timing, an ability to pick gaps on both sides of the wicket. He made it appear easy when the ball was seaming around on the first day. One of the features of that knock was the confidence with which he played the pull shot. Mahela's body balance is such that he can quickly get into a position, and put away the short balls.

Jayawardene says he worked specifically on the pull before the tour of South Africa in 2000. ``They would not give balls to drive, so we have to cut and pull. These are the scoring shots.''

Among Jayawardene's six three-figure scores are three big ones - 242 against India at the SSC, and 167 each against South Africa and New Zealand.

Best century

The Lankan picks his hundred that ambushed the Kiwis in Galle 1998 as his best Test knock till date. ``Well, it was my first Test century. It was a turning pitch, difficult to bat on. We had lost the first Test, and were in trouble in the second. So it was very important from a team's point of view. We went on to win the series.'' With his nimble footwork and soft hands, Jayawardene does play the spinners well.

He realises that such knocks do not happen everyday, and adds being on the international cricketing scene for three years has toughened him. ``There is so much uncertainty. You are never sure. You could get a century today, and get out for zero the next. You learn to live with this.''

Jayawardene's philosophy is this - a player should give it his best shot and not be bothered about the results. ``As long as I know that I have given 150 per cent to the team, I can sleep well. Success and failure are not always in your hands.''

He goes on. ``I did not get runs in the first few matches of the one-day tournament before the Test series, but I was not worried because the team needed quick runs when I came in and I got out to shots which I played in the interests of the team. I wasn't doing anything wrong.'' His talent enhanced by a shrewd cricketing brain has meant that he is being talked about as the future Lankan skipper - he was the vice-captain for a brief period. Jayawardene does not sound excited by the prospect. `` It will be a honour, but that will not affect the way I play or look at my cricket. I will enjoy captaincy if it comes to that. Right now, I am not thinking about it.''

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Colombo-born cricketer prepares to take on Sourav Ganguly's men at the SSC ground in the final Test, a venue where he made a mammoth 242 against the Indians in the Asian Test Championship, '99. But like he says, it's an uncertain world. You never ever know. It will be a new day, a new Test, a new challenge.

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