HISTORIC SERIES WINNING 160 IN ENGLAND’S BACKYARD
By Srian Obeyesekere
The retiring Angelo Mathews, who has announced he would be parting ways with test cricket following the home Bangladesh 2 match series, will leave a lasting legacy of a 120 strong match sheet, and be best remembered for the indelible mark he brought to the game as a fiery cowboy like attacking batsman.
Look, and we do at 16 sterling test centuries that flow in a fountain of over 8000 runs. Indeed, a lasting timeline of willow greatness that the ebony faced Mathews lit up the game. Not just Sri Lankan cricket, but overall world cricket.
Mathews was cut out in the perfect make of a technically accomplished stroke maker whose bat did the talking in a 16-year long career.
A lively all-rounder who’s equally telling agility as a medium fast bowler unfortunately did not yield his full potential beset by running injuries, Mathews was a class act to watch when in full flow perhaps best demonstrated by his famous match winning 160 against England at Leeds, Headingley. Sri Lanka owed it to the man for that historic piece of a first ever series triumph on English soil. It typified Mathews leadership qualities as he led from the front coming to the show with Sri Lanka not that well placed on 277 for 8 to adding a match turning 149 for he eighth wicket together with Rangana Herath 48 to setting England a target of 359 to caving in for 249 before Dhammika Prasad’s 5 for 50 burst in June 2014. It marked a historic series win on English soil and Angelo Mathews influence to that champagne hurrah by Sri Lanka will surely be a lasting flame in the annals of test cricket.
By and large, Mathews strong point was his warrior like ability to arrive at big shows when the chips were down to doing the job for Sri Lanka.
If Arjuna Ranatunga was Sri Lanka’s shrewd Captain Cool to subduing oppositions like Australia, Angelo Mathews, by his attacking flair has carved a name as a warrior knight who carried the fight in big shows against the likes of the English. If that was one atom of his heroics, his century versus New Zealand when the chips were down to saving the test match at Wellington in 2018 defying the Kiwis attack for a good long seven hours was one of the finest armour of a game warrior to meeting the test of time to saving the day for his country. His unbeaten 200 versus Zimbabwe further underwrote the finery of a showman who exulted in big scores.
The right hander’s 8167 test runs is a tall Everest of what Mathews was to Sri Lankan cricket echoed by a golden groove of 16 centuries and 45 half centuries is certainly a treasure trove timeline of the test cricket saga this great servant to the game was.
He has taken 33 test wickets, 126 in ODIs and 45 in T20s from 9 appearances in an area decimated by injury that was to blot what had the trimmings of a great all-rounder.
A TRUE GREAT
Mathews greatness does extend far, best exemplified by his 5916 ODI runs from 226 appearances and 195 innings. The three tons and 45 half tons were the silverware to walking that walk while his 1416 T20 runs with highest of unbeaten 81 is a multiplying torch to a truly lasting odyssey of the man who was Sri Lanka’s third most successful captain with 13 wins from 34 matches between 2013 and 2017.
Announcing his retirement via social media, Mathews said, “It is time for me to say goodbye to the most cherished format of the game, International Test Cricket!”
He is is in the fourth highest century maker by a Sri Lankan alongside Marvan Athapattu, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Dimuth Karuna Karunaratne – all with 16 with Kumar Sangakkara the most number 38 followed by Mahela Jayewardene 34 and Aravinda de Silva 20.
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