Lasith Malinga is a once in a lifetime bowler. With an action that is difficult to emulate, Malinga has carved a niche for himself and become one of the most dangerous limited overs bowlers in international cricket.

The phrase “two sides of the same coin” was never more apt than on the Independence Day weekend for India. As the country celebrated its 68th year of independence over a long holiday weekend, cricket fans watched the team’s abysmal surrender at The Oval in horror.

A simple scribble by a scribe in reverence of Mahela Jayawardena……… 

Warmth and an easygoing lifestyle are as synonymous with Sri Lankan cricketers as their brand of free-spirited cricket, and Mahela Jayawardene has stayed true to that throughout his career.

After Kausal Silva got dismissed by Abdur Rehman, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) was on its feet. For the last time in Test cricket, Mahela Jayawardene walked out to the ground from the pavilion. For Jayawardene, it could not have been more perfect as he got to play his farewell innings at the ground which had become his favourite hunting spot over the years courtesy eleven centuries.

Mahela Jayawardene’s illustrious Test career will end after the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, currently underway at Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo.

Sri Lanka lead the three-Test series 1-0 against Pakistan and have an 87-run first-innings lead in the third Test. On day four, Sri Lanka adopt an overly cautious approach as they stumble along at 2.1 runs per over in their second innings and are wiped out the next day, shortly before lunch.

The most recent Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was also the last time Pakistan took to the field in cricket's longest format, six months ago in the United Arab Emirates. On that occasion a tightly fought three-match series ended in a 1-1 draw, which Pakistan snatched in the final match, at Sharjah, by chasing down 302 for the loss of five wickets in just 57.3 overs.

For 17 years, Mahela Jayawardene has been the fulcrum of Sri Lanka's batting. Sri Lanka's Little Master was a thorn in the flesh of any bowling attack.

From all accounts, it wasn’t quite cricket when Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson were walking back to the team rooms at lunch on the second day – July 10 – of the Trent Bridge Test match.

It’s hard to believe, given his physique and the reputation, Jacques Kallis commanded in international cricket for almost two decades, but the reason he wasn’t selected for Western Province Schools was because he was too small.

This column has recently described how illegal bowling action (chucking) is rife and rampant in youth cricket and that the causes lie rooted in the coaching, umpiring, playing, and structure of Sri Lankan cricket.