A giant of international cricket is about to play his last match.
It might not have caused much of a ripple in Australia, but the retirement of Mahela Jaywardene is massive news in Sri Lanka, and indeed throughout much of the cricketing world.
The 148-Test veteran will play his final international match when his beloved Sri Lanka takes on Pakistan in the second Test at Colombo, where a host of festivities are planned to see him off.
Over an international career spanning 17 years, beginning all the way back in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s famous 1996 World Cup victory, Jayawardene has established himself as a modern marvel through his deeds on and off the ground.
Here’s why.
HE IS A SUPREME BATSMAN
Jayawardene faces a Bradman-esque challenge heading into his final Test. His batting average currently sits at 50.02, meaning that, assuming he is dismissed twice in the match, he needs to make at last 94 runs to keep his average above the magical 50 mark.
But even if the right-hander’s average drops below 50, his statistics put him alongside the great batsmen of the modern era. 11,756 Test runs sees him sit seventh on the highest run-scorers list, while he is the sixth greatest run-scorer in one-day international cricket, with 11,681.
Jayawardene has notched an incredible 34 Test centuries — the same number as Brian Lara — while his T20 record is also highly impressive, currently sitting second on the list of run-scorers in international 20-over matches.
But his numbers only tell half the story.
Jayawardene is an old-fashioned batsman who managed to flourish in a thoroughly modern game. His technique is both simple and adjustable — he often looks equally likely to caress the ball as he is to bludgeon it.
His most famous innings is undoubtedly his record-setting 374 against South Africa in 2006, which he made alongside his great friend Kumar Sangakarra. The latter is regarded by many as a superior batsman, but that shouldn’t diminish Jayawardene’s incredible feats.
HE IS A LEADER AMONGST MEN
Jayawardene captained his country 38 times in Tests, his first stint running from 2006 to 2009, and then taking over again from 2012 to 2013. He actually had a far better batting record when he was captain, averaging 59.11 and notching 14 hundreds as skipper.
But his leadership extended beyond the boundary rope.
Jayawardene was captain during Sri Lankan cricket’s darkest hour when the team bus was attacked by terrorists on a tour of Pakistan in 2009. The skipper himself was injured, as were several of his teammates, by shrapnel from bullets that pelted the bus.
The Sri Lankans were widely praised for the grace with which they handled the situation, with Jayawardene leading the way.
Fast forward several years and it was Jayawardene’s on-field leadership that came to the fore during a Twenty20 match against Australia at the MCG. With the Aussies needing a boundary off the final ball to secure victory, Glenn Maxwell was incensed by how long it was taking Sri Lanka to set its field.
Even though Jayawardene wasn’t actually the captain — that duty belonged to current skipper Angelo Mathews — it was the elder statesman who was pulling all the strings, and who subsequently became involved in a heated slanging match with Maxwell.
The debate continued after the conclusion of the match, with Jayawardene not taking a backward step as Matthew Wade and David Warner confronted him. The diminutive Sri Lankan wasn’t afraid of confrontation, but nor did he court it.
HE IS A BRILLIANT FIELDER
The 37-year-old has spent a lifetime in the slips cordon, and as a result has taken more catches in international cricket than any other player, snaffling a total of 423 chances.
The next player on the list who is still active is Australia captain Michael Clarke, who’s taken 238 catches, so Jayawardene’s record is likely to stand for a very, very long time.
HE WANTS TO HEAL A NATION
Despite the country’s decades-old civil war officially coming to an end in 2009, Sri Lanka remains a nation divided.
Jayawardene, together with fellow veteran batsman Sangakarra, has spoken at length of the need to bring the people of the small island nation together — and the role he and his fellow cricketers can play in doing so.
“Cricket has always brought the country together,” Jayawardene told the BBC earlier this year. “Even during the war, when Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup — both sides celebrated and there was a peace for a few days.
“Now, people living in Sri Lanka want lasting peace. They want to rebuild the country and make a better place for our next generation.”
HE CHOSE TO GO OUT ON TOP
Unlike many of his peers, Jayawardene hasn’t been chased out of international cricket. The past few years haven’t been his best in terms of statistics, although his batting average this year currently sits at a rather healthy 63.
Regardless, the veteran batsman resisted the temptation to play on until the World Cup, which at just six months away was a very realistic possibility.
Instead, he has chosen to go out on top and more importantly at home, in front of an adoring Colombo crowd.
