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Mahela Jayawardene to retire from Test Cricket

MarkCooper

MarkCooper

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Retirement of Mahela Jayawardene from Test Cricket

Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Mr. Mahela Jayawardene has tendered his resignation from Test cricket.

Addressing a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of SLC Mr. Ashley De Silva, Mahela Jayawardene has stated that he would like to retire from Test cricket after the forthcoming Test series against South Africa and Pakistan. Mahela Jayawardene has stated that " It was not an easy decision to make given that it has been a great privilege and honour representing my country during the past 18 years, but I believe this is the right time".

The former Captain of Sri Lanka reiterated that he is fully committed to playing ODI cricket for Sri Lanka.
 
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It seems a natural ending for him, as Lanka don't play any more tests until the 50-over World Cup next year, at which point I expect him to hang up his boots in that format as well. Perhaps Sangakkara too; both have already retired from T20is as of the last World Cup.
 
Caught a bit off guard, thought he'd carry on for a bit. I guess he'll retire from all forms after the 2015 World Cup.
 
Hmm so he finally calls it quit. Should have done it with a farewell game against pakistan
 
Not many players from the 1990s are left now, Vettori is on his last legs, and Younis Khan and Sangakkara debuted in 2000.

Chanderpaul is still rock solid for the West Indies though.
 
Great servant for Sri Lankan cricket. Feel bad for him though, as his career will not end in the best of ways. :junaid :ajmal

Wish him the best of luck in his future!
 
Varun said:
He is.
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Oh then in that case great but it will be very bad for srilankan cricket. He has been a great servant and he is still one of their main batsmen in their line up. Last of the 1990,s. Now how many are left in tests?
 
saiyan0312 said:
Oh then in that case great but it will be very bad for srilankan cricket. He has been a great servant and he is still one of their main batsmen in their line up. Last of the 1990,s. Now how many are left in tests?
Click to expand...

Like I was mentioning above,

Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Daniel Vettori
Ravindra Jadeja
Rangana Herath
Jacques Kallis

;)
 
Varun said:
Like I was mentioning above,

Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Daniel Vettori
Ravindra Jadeja
Rangana Herath
Jacques Kallis

;)
Click to expand...

Kallis retired with a century bro. :D :P :P in tests and yes chanders is still around.

And sir ravindra jadeja debut in 2006
 
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People like Jayawardene live with true pride and they are actual team player. Younis Khan & our others seniors should learn from him.
 
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Good riddance. Man hasn't been in great form for past couple of years. Hope he bows out with a bang!
 
Obviously his stats show he's a flat track bully, but what you can't deny is his spirit and he's a guy that brings the team first. Credit to him for developing Mathews while he was captain.
 
He may not have been the best outside SC (in tests) but he was amazing in SC and his artistic batting was a pleasure to watch.

A SL legend. One of the 2 guys who virtually held their batting together in Tests and ODIs for nearly a decade.

Take a bow.
 
Kiri said:
Obviously his stats show he's a flat track bully, but what you can't deny is his spirit and he's a guy that brings the team first. Credit to him for developing Mathews while he was captain.
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He played well in 2011 final.

Stepped up his game when it mattered.

That's HUGE in my book.
 
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Kiri said:
Obviously his stats show he's a flat track bully, but what you can't deny is his spirit and he's a guy that brings the team first. Credit to him for developing Mathews while he was captain.
Click to expand...

The best part about Lankan players is that there is hardly ever a squabble about the captaincy. It doesn't matter if Jayawardene or Sangakkara or Chandimal or Malinga or Matthews is skipper - they more or less play the same way and as a solid unit.

This is in stark contrast to Pakistan, which is what [MENTION=136411]Shafi[/MENTION] was alluding to above.
 
Looks like class is gone from Sri-Lanka. The only right handed Sri-Lankan batsmen whose pleasing on the eye.
 
A great batsman departs!!

I hope he scores big vs SA (and flops vs Pak :P)
 
This guy is unstoppable on those dustbowls of Galle and Kandy.. (nothing demeaning)

Sheer artist, he has those perfect textbook shots.. Amazing batsman to watch! Farewell Mahela.. Batting will only get poorer with your exit..
 
he has been out of sorts of off let so he wants to finish his test career and WC def would be his last!!!!
 
Our players should learn from Sri Lankans who retire themselves to give chances to youngsters especially Younis Khan
 
Varun said:
Not many players from the 1990s are left now, Vettori is on his last legs, and Younis Khan and Sangakkara debuted in 2000.

Chanderpaul is still rock solid for the West Indies though.
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Chris Gayle, herath are still around.
 
not many 90s test players are left chanders gayle herath i dunt think vettori will play tests again bhaji and viru won't be picked again
 
Good call. Been struggling for awhile now. Thanks for everything MJ. All the best champ. Don't take Sanga with you just yet tho! :D
 
Sanga should keep playing Tests as long as he is in good form , that would be for 2-3 years after the 2015 WC imo.
 
heck of a career with the bat and a great slip catcher as well, good luck to him in his final tests.
 
Kiri said:
Good riddance. Man hasn't been in great form for past couple of years. Hope he bows out with a bang!
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That's a bit harsh mate - he's given his all over 145 tests in 17/18 years and represented his nation with pride. Not a hint of controversy followed him and he was a great ambassador for his side. Okay, he was not so good in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England but at home he was a fantastic test batsman.
 
People might call him FTB. but he has been great servant for Sri Lankan cricket. Had a great career deserves to go out on a high.
 
Gabbar Singh said:
That's a bit harsh mate - he's given his all over 145 tests in 17/18 years and represented his nation with pride. Not a hint of controversy followed him and he was a great ambassador for his side. Okay, he was not so good in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England but at home he was a fantastic test batsman.
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I'm denying his rich legacy but his recent form hasn't been too great. That's why I said what I said.
 
Younis is past it should hang his boots after the 100th Test but knowing him, he will have to be dropped eventually.
 
Mamoon said:
Younis is past it should hang his boots after the 100th Test but knowing him, he will have to be dropped eventually.
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Despite his selfishness in the last few months YK deserves a 100 Tests. Its still a travesty Moyo never got to 100 Tests
 
Another player retires from the time when i began watching cricket(1997). Only Chanderpaul and Kallis are left from this period :(. I'd die to have batting technique of Mahela. SL won every ODI game where Mahela scored a century, only game that SL didn't win was the final vs India. Who the heck would be the on field captain now ?
 
A very good career for SL and a gun catcher. Good luck to him after his retirement.
 
Varun said:
Like I was mentioning above,

Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Daniel Vettori
Ravindra Jadeja
Rangana Herath
Jacques Kallis

;)
Click to expand...

Ravindra Jadeja made his international debut in 2009.
Jadeja of 90's was Ajay Jadeja, who hasn't played for over a decade or so
 
Wish him a happy retirement.
A player who never played to his potential outside Lanka, but a good player non the less.
Will probably look to go out on a high and belter us to smithereens tomorrow along his mate Sangakkara, another 300 partnership beckons. Its gonna be a tough series for the boys but we are looking forward to it.
 
Stylish player. :raja

A big HTB but played some gun innings on dustbowls in his country and was a pillar of strength for his side.
 
Well right, that is the end of that! He has retired......

Always a pleasure to watch and he looked like an artist, a man different from the whole planet the day he got things going his away. He would go down as amongst my three most favourite batsmen from Sri Lanka alongside Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva. Those deft touches to the third man against spinners were so admirable, and equally admirable was his handling of spin bowling in general. Walking across to the off-stump to be able to sweep and cover the movement of the ball was another sight to behold, always.

He had his flaws in overseas conditions, but that can be forgiven on the day of his retirement I feel. Still, he had a tremendous tour of England in 2005 as he made runs in both the formats, one of which was one memorable century to help his team draw a Test match by batting around two days. I once made a comment here that I would never miss his innings if I knew which were the days that he will score big, and I stick to that comment. Watching him bat was great. Even his last Test century against South Africa had those strokes that I so admire.

It may surprise a few, but tactically he was the best captain that I have so far seen in my life. The results may not reflect it all, but we all know that a captain alone on his own can´t change the fate of a game. I think he was very sharp and quick to react, always smart with the placing of his fielders. One incident that I will never forgot is the first Test match against England at home in 2012. England were well on their way to chasing 340, or so it seemed at least, with Jonathan Trott making a hundred. On the spot, during the game itself, he noticed a certain weakness in his game and placed a few fielders around his legs, a leg-slip and one or to more to be precise. Trott fell for the trap, caught there. Excellent, game-changing tactics by Jayawerdene:14:.

I do realise that he is staying on in ODI cricket till the world cup next year, but you never know whether that will end the day of the tournament´s final, semi-final or the early stage. I wish him all the best for that, regardless. For now, well done on having made a vital contribution in the second innings to his team´s victory in his last Test match.
 
As for as limited-overs cricket is concerned, his hundred in the World Cup final 2011 was simply awesome! As far as class and strokeplay is concerned, I would rate that as the best that I have seen in a world cup final. He batted at a very, very healthy strike-rate without hitting a single six, or slogging in general. The hundred in the semi-final of the 2007 edition was quite good, and so was his cameo of 40 or something against Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 2012. He richly deserved the Man of the Match award that day for his innings on a pretty tough track.
 
In terms of aesthetics Mahela was very graceful in his batting, great to watch and don't think sl will replace him anytime soon.
 
Deserving farewell to a champion! Very happy for him. All the best Mahela. Thanks for every thing!
 
A great player!!

Test cricket will miss his graceful strokes!!

Thanks and farewell Mahela and good luck with your life :)
 
Well, Sachin Tendulkar too doesn´t forget to praise his captaincy skkils:D.......

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb"><p>This week the world of test cricket saw the last innings of a great player and a wonderful captain, Mahela Jayawardene. Well done buddy!!</p>— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/statuses/502817585520324609">August 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
It feels so strange to still see Sanga and Mahela playing.

We've already given them two farewells. Just go already.
 
Mahela hasn't been in great odi form over the past 12-18 months - I wonder if he'll be a liability at the WC. Kumar on the other hand seems to be getting better with age.
 
The big worry for SL in ODIs at the moment is the performance of the openers. Dilshan looks past his prime and Kusal isn't grabbing the numerous opportunities that are coming his way. He is looking more like the next Imran Nazir these days rather than the next Sanath.

Tharanga has 170 ODIs, 13 tons and 5,000 runs but still doesn't look convincing at all.

Mahela is one of the biggest underachievers in ODIs of this generation but he's a big match player - you can't score hundreds in World Cup semifinals and finals without having nerves of steel. He looks a class act when he opens and I think in the last few months of his ODI career, he should be opening.
 
Mahela is my favorite player in Lankan team. He is all class and shows up more often in tough situations.
 
Gabbar Singh said:
Mahela hasn't been in great odi form over the past 12-18 months - I wonder if he'll be a liability at the WC. Kumar on the other hand seems to be getting better with age.
Click to expand...

Mahela is a clutch player. 80% of his 50s and 14 of his 15 centuries were all during winning knock. The only century that didn't let SL win was the 2011 WC Final.
 
Thivagar said:
Mahela is a clutch player. 80% of his 50s and 14 of his 15 centuries were all during winning knock. The only century that didn't let SL win was the 2011 WC Final.
Click to expand...

WC final was probably his best knock in ODI. I thought , he had pretty much won the WC for SL with that knock.
 
Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, Mahela Jayawardene was a technically sound batsman who was always hungry for runs. Mahela was a lynchpin for Sri Lanka’s batting line-up for over a decade. Apart from being the greatest Sri Lankan batsman, Mahela was also a great captain who took the Sri Lanka cricket team to greater heights.

Former Sri Lankan skipper’s last outing in the purest format of the game came in August 2014 against Pakistan. Mahela retired with 11814 runs under his belt from 149 Test matches at an average of 49.8. The last Test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka played from August 14 to August 18 in Colombo held a lot of importance as it was the last time that Mahela donned whites.

The historic game had Sri Lanka batting first and posting 320 runs on the scoreboard. Upul Tharanga was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts with his delightful innings of 92 runs. Mahela failed to perform in the first innings as he ended up with just four runs off 16 deliveries. In response, Pakistan added 332 runs to the scoreboard on the back of a century by Sarfaraz Ahmed.

The third innings, which was also the last batting innings for Mahela in Test cricket, saw him smashing a fantastic half-century. Sri Lanka scored 282 runs with Mahela leading with his knock of 54 runs. Interestingly, it was the 50th and the final fifty by Mahela in the purest format of the game.

With 270 runs to chase, Pakistan had a torrid start in the fourth innings. The top-five batsmen failed to score anything above 10 and the visitors found themselves reeling at 50 for five. Sarfaraz again showed his class by slamming a half-century. However, no support from other batsmen meant Pakistan collapsing at 165 runs. In the end, Sri Lanka won the game by 105 runs and the two-match Test series by 2-0

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/...ardene-bowed-out-of-test-cricket-4096622.html
 
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