Fit Mendis joins Test squad

Cricinfo staff

December 29, 2008

	Ajantha Mendis has recovered from the ankle injury he suffered in a domestic game © AFP

Spinner Ajantha Mendis has joined Sri Lanka's Test squad in Dhaka after recovering from the ankle injury he sustained in a domestic first-class match earlier this month. "My ankle is alright now and I am not feeling any pain," he told reporters on his arrival.

Mendis, who picked up 26 wickets in his debut three-Test series against India, was replaced by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for the Bangladesh Tests after he was expected to be out of action for three to four weeks. Mendis had suffered severe soft tissue damage in his right ankle while playing for Sri Lanka Army Sports Club against Tamil Union - his first domestic game this season.

He is expected to return to Sri Lanka's line-up for the second Test, which begins in Chittagong on January 3. Sri Lanka are poised for a 1-0 lead in the series, having amassed a 406-run lead in their second innings of the first Test. There are two days remaining in the Test, which had Tuesday pencilled in a rest day - unusual in recent years - due to the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.

Following the Tests, Sri Lanka will play a triangular one-day tournament also involving Zimbabwe, which starts on January 10. Mendis, who has 48 wickets from 18 ODIs, is likely to become the quickest to 50 wickets - Ajit Agarkar currently holds the record, having reached the milestone in his 23rd match.

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Mendis could be fit for second Test

Sri Lanka in Bangladesh 2008-09

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

December 16, 2008

	Mahela Jayawardene: "In Ajantha's absence we have to play a different combination and a different game." © AFP

Mahela Jayawardene has said the greatest challenge facing Sri Lanka in Bangladesh is to try to adjust to the conditions and the pitches as quickly as possible.

"The home team will always try to make use of home advantage - the conditions, the pitches and spectator support," said Jayawardene. "The challenge facing any touring side is to try to adjust to them as quickly as possible and get an early advantage over the home side."

Sri Lanka failed to do that on their tour to Zimbabwe last month, where their batting was not wholly convincing despite a 5-0 series sweep. Mahela Udawatte and Upul Tharanga, the preferred openers, both averaged below 20, Jayawardene scored 19 runs in four innings, and Chamara Kapugedera, long regarded as a player with immense potential, again disappointed.

What Sri Lanka needed to do now, felt Jayawardene, was not put too much pressure on themselves. "Initially the first Test in Bangladesh is going to be a tough one. We need to set ourselves a standard which we want to maintain throughout the series," he said. "The expectations to win are going to be the same for us whoever we play … everybody expects us to win."

Sri Lanka have toured Bangladesh only once before, in 2006. Though they won the Tests 2-0 and the ODIs 2-1, they underwent some anxious moments during the Tests. This time around, they go into the series without having played a Test since August 11. Since then they played a Twenty20 tournament in Canada, which featured Pakistan and Zimbabwe, and the ODI series in Zimbabwe.

"That is the challenge international cricketer's face today," Jayawardene said. "You just have to make the necessary adjustments to suit the type of game you have to play. It's a good challenge to have as cricketers. It will assess a lot of things like your character and integrity."

He said regardless of the quality of the opposition, Sri Lanka needed to improve their own standards. "Once we realise where we are right now we don't want to drop our standards. That's where the motivation comes."

Ajantha Mendis has been ruled out of the Tests, but has apparently shown remarkable improvement. Ranjith Nananayakarawasam, the team physio, said that Mendis - who suffered severe soft tissue damage on his right ankle - had responded well to treatment and there was a possibility that he could be fit to play in the second Test starting in Chittagong on January 3.

Sri Lanka Cricket sources stated that the team was keen to take Mendis along as an additional player so that he could continue his treatment. The final decision lies with the SCL's interim committee, who will have to bear the extra expenses.

Regardless of Mendis' recovery, Jayawardene said that it is not individuals that win matches, but the team. "Ajantha's been a brilliant cricketer and a match-winner for us. His loss will definitely be felt, but at the same time I don't think it will affect us a lot. In Ajantha's absence we have to play a different combination and a different game. In the past we had [Muttiah] Muralitharan injured for some time and we have somehow managed without him. Ajantha's absence affords another bowler to step in."

Jayawardene denied this would put extra pressure on Murali. "He has about 16 years of cricket behind him and he knows what is expected of him. Murali and [Chaminda] Vaas have been doing the job for us for the last 10 years or so. Ajantha came in and took a little bit of pressure from these two guys. They are seasoned campaigners and I am sure they can handle whatever is thrown in their way."

On his own form, Jayawardene felt he was "headed in the right direction". "I was quite happy with the knock of 65 I got against good opposition like NCC [in the Premier League Tournament]," he said. "I spent a lot of time in the middle in match situations which gives back your confidence. I know exactly what I need to do to regain my form."

Sri Lanka start their tour with a three-day warm-up game at Savar on Sunday before moving into the Test series on Boxing Day.

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Why Mendis is tremendous

Batsmen and bowlers topping the averages at different stages of their careers

Travis Basevi and Mathew Varghese

December 10, 2008

	Ajantha Mendis has wreaked havoc in the opposition ranks in his first year of international cricket © AFP

Forty-eight wickets in 18 games. That's Ajantha Mendis' record in ODIs this year, which makes him the leading wicket-taker - fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is next with 35 from 21. Mendis, who made his debut this year, is on the verge of becoming the fastest to 50 ODI wickets - Ajit Agakar got there in 23 - but more phenomenal still is his career average. Mendis went wicketless, for 23 runs, in his last ODI of the year, the fifth against Zimbabwe in Harare; the game before that he was averaging below ten: if his average stays close to that through his career, he will end up as the leading strike force in ODIs, way ahead of the rest. This week's List looks at the best averaging batsmen and bowlers at different stages of their careers.

It was against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2004 that one of Mendis' team-mates, Farveez Maharoof, made his ODI debut. He took 3 for 3 in three overs as Sri Lanka's seamers demolished Zimbabwe for 35, the lowest total in ODIs. Fidel Edwards also had a great start to his career (his 6 for 22 remains the best debut performance), and Gary Gilmour's consecutive five-fors in the 1975 World Cup - Australia won the semi-final (6 for 14) and lost the final (5 for 48) - helped him to an average of 8.35 after four games. Gilmour, though, played only one more ODI in his career, finishing with an average of 10.31.

Waqar Younis stormed to 50 wickets in 27 games, at an average of 14.96 - one that Mendis is likely to best. Waqar's average, though, crept up as he played more games. Saqlain Mushtaq, who took the least games to 100 and 200 wickets, dominates the list after that - he got to 200 at an average below 20.

Their consistency ensures the names of Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan creep in at the bottom of the table. McGrath's 7 for 15 against Namibia in the 2003 World Cup gave him an average of exactly 22 after 249 games.

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Mendis likely to miss Bangladesh Tests

Sri Lanka in Bangladesh 2008-09

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

December 11, 2008

	Ajantha Mendis injured his ankle while bowling for Army SC against Tamil Union © AFP

Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, is likely to miss the Test series in Bangladesh, which begins on December 26, after injuring his ankle while bowling for Army SC in his first match of the domestic season against Tamil Union last weekend.

Ranjith Nanayakkarawasam, the Sri Lanka team physio, said Mendis had strained his right ankle and was undergoing treatment. "The injury will take at least three to four weeks to heal," he said.

As a result, Mendis is likely to miss the first two Tests against Bangladesh scheduled to start on December 26 and January 3. However, Sri Lanka Cricket sources said he stood a good chance of playing the one-day tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, beginning on January 10.

Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, will take Mendis' place in Sri Lanka's 15-man Test squad. Herath's last Test was in March this year, against West Indies in Guyana.

Mendis has had a successful run in 2008, announcing his arrival with 26 wickets at 18.38 apiece in his debut Test series against India earlier this year. He had a superb run in ODI's as well - he took 48 wickets in 18 matches - and is the favourite to become the fastest to fifty wickets and beat Ajit Agarkar, who achieved that feat in 23 games.

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