On Tuesday, a record number turned out at the R. Premadasa Stadium to witness the seventh ODI between Sri Lanka and England. The 2012 World T-20 final at the same venue had a few empty seats, but Tuesday was a packed house.
Tickets were sold out the day before the game. The series had been already decided and the final game was a dead rubber. Furthermore, attendances for week day games in Colombo are usually dull. So why the sudden interest? All cricket fans – young and old wanted to be at the stadium as it was the last game for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara on home soil.
Jayawardene will not be seen in action on Sri Lankan soil hereafter while Sangakkara will be not seen in coloured clothing.
It wasn’t a spectacular game for the duo personally although Sri Lanka won in style. Jayawardene pulled one straight to long leg having made 28 while Sangakkara contributed 33 before flicking one to mid-wicket. Sri Lanka piled up 302 runs and as England slumped to 193 for nine, skipper Angelo Mathews sensed the mood and introduced Jayawardene to the attack.
There were loud cheers and fittingly Jayawardene’s spin accounted for the last English wicket. Even more significant was the mode of dismissal as James Tredwell was stumped by Kumar Sangakkara. Soon afterwards, the pair saluted the crowd with a lap of honour. It was moment to remember. The fans gave their heroes a royal send off. “Even though we have a contract with the cricket board, our real contract is with the fans,” commented Sangakkara.
Jayawardene also saluted the fans when asked about his best memory playing the game. “The best memories will be the fans – the music, the rhythm and all that. To finish it off with that same rhythm – you can’t ask for anything else. That’s the uniqueness about Sri Lankan cricket. That is the flair that we grew up playing with. That is what we’ve managed to improve on. We haven’t gone away from our flair. We’ve just gone on improving on that. What we would like to leave for that next generation is the challenge to continue doing that.”
“The fans have been fantastic. We’ve probably got the best fans. They do criticise us, but it’s done with a good heart. They don’t go overboard. They keep turning up whether we do well or not, and they’ve always been behind us. That’s been the strength of the Sri Lankan team. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed that,” Jayawardene added.
Both batsmen are retiring while they are at their peak – particularly Sangakkara. The star batsman is the highest run getter in ODI cricket this year with 1256 runs to his name at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 87. This year he hit four centuries and eight fifties. As Sangakkara set the benchmark with his batting, people often took his wicket keeping for granted. He had a fabulous 2014 behind the stumps and his 39 dismissals are the highest by a wicketkeeper.
The Sri Lankans will miss their batting but there will be replacements to fill the slots. But their personalities will be irreplaceable. Both players were strong leaders and set the agenda for the team. The standards that the Sri Lankan team maintained on and off the field were drawn up by them when they were captains and Mathews has been more than happy to continue with these minor adjustments.
They are also the masterminds who draw up the team’s strategies. Former coach Geoff Marsh once said, “There’s no greater example to the younger players than Jayawardene and Sangakkara. They’re totally professional people. When Jayawardene talks in a team meeting, you can hear a pin drop, he’s held in such high esteem.”
Sangakkara has been urged to stay on to play Test cricket. It seems the plan is for him stay on till Sri Lanka’s tour of England in 2016. But, that year he will turn 39 and it remains to be seen what decision he will take.
Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was named Man of the Series against England, however, will not quit. Dilshan is one year older than Sangakkara and Jayawardene, but has opted to play on after the World Cup having retired from Test cricket last year. Dilshan was in fine form during the England series with 357 runs at an average of 51 and having taken 12 wickets at an average of 25. He remains Sri Lanka’s best fielder and Mathews welcomed his decision to stay on saying too many players leaving at the same time wasn’t ideal for the team.
Two days after the farewell, Sri Lanka flew to New Zealand on Thursday, where they will play two Tests and seven ODIs. The tour is crucial for the tourists as there are few slots up for grabs in their World Cup squad. The tour also gives the Sri Lankans ample time to get used to the conditions in New Zealand, where several of their World Cup games will be played.
It’s also the longest tour that Sri Lanka have undertaken. After the bilateral series against New Zealand, which ends on January 29th, they will stay on there to take part in the World Cup. Assuming they go all the way to the knockout stages, the Sri Lankans will be away from home for three and a half months.
