At 36 years old Kumar Sangakkara has done most things there are to do in cricket.
He has captained his country and kept wicket for them.
He has topped the world rankings as the best Test batsman on the planet.
He is one of only 24 players in the history of the sport with a Test triple hundred to his name.
In a few weeks he will win his 550th Sri Lankan cap in all forms of the game.
Last month he won the World Twenty20 with a man-of-the-match performance in the final.
Despite all that, the thought of turning out for Durham today excites him.
“I still enjoy playing and wearing the Sri Lankan shirt,” says Sangakkara, who makes his County Championship debut for the Riversiders at home to Yorkshire today.
“It is difficult back home for the opposite reasons. It has been boiling there recently and a few hours is a test to get to the ground and train really hard.
“There is a huge enjoyment factor which comes with it, though.”
Sangakkara’s Sri Lanka will be England’s first opponents of the second Peter Moores era.
While many of his team-mates are topping up their bank balances with a lucrative bit of Indian Premier League cricket, Sangakkara is getting an early look at conditions – at Chester-le-Street this week then Hove next week.
It stems from a determination to touch up one of the few unimpressive features of his cv.
The legendary left-hander scored a century in his last Test innings in this country – at the Rose Bowl in 2011 – but it only nudged his five-day average in this country up to 30.58.
For a player whose record in all 122 of his Test appearances is 58.07, it is a slightly embarrassing blip.
Putting that right is more important to Sangakkara than all the dollars the IPL can throw at him.
He added: “I want to see if I can have a bit more success before I call it a day.
“IPLs and T20s allow you to display skills and be recognised and spoken about, but improving your skills as a cricketer comes with the longer format of the game.”
Once this summer’s work is done, Sangakkara can start thinking about reaching for the pipe and slippers – at least in international terms.
His match-winning innings in the World T20 final was his last at that level for Sri Lanka.
He said: “In 50-over cricket, I hope to play to the next World Cup (in Australia and New Zealand in February/March 2015) – that might be my last assignment.
“Looking at Test cricket, there might be another series after that.
“It depends on the chat I wil have with the selectors and the authorities. It is fast-approaching the time when either you go or you are asked to leave.”
Whenever the end comes, he will exit the stage without any bitterness.
Sangakkarra added: “As players, we have been very, very lucky.
“It is a really high-paid job which allows you to travel the world and earn a living playing outdoors. I cannot really complain.”
Sangakkara’s debut is one factor in what should be a great game of cricket.
The last time the sides met in August, an epic encounter decided the destination of the Championship.
The Tykes might have lost out then, but they are looking dangerous again.
Last week they were so spoilt for choice captain Andrew Gale dropped himself and, although Joe Root and Gary Ballance have been called up by England, Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan are fit to take their places.
