Mahela’s hour of glory

The last world cup in South Africa in 2003 was a personal disaster for him when he scored just 21 runs in games. Not surprisingly he was dropped from the team. He fought his way back knowing that form is only temporary and class is permanent and was soon back in the team. Soon after that he was appointed the vice captain. But just about a year ago he was striped off the vice captaincy (for the second time) and was once again fighting for his place in the team. Come World Cup 2007 and he is appointed as Captain of a nation that expects their team to be strong contenders of the biggest prize in World Cricket.

Yes, Mahela Jayawardene has had his ups and downs in his cricket career as much as his own life. He has faced it all from bouncers to yorkers to full tosses and has taken it up in his stride. From a shy, soft spoken, baby faced debutant in 1997, Mahela Jayawardene has graduated to be a mature, strong, forthright leader today.

In an interview with The Sunday Times the 29 year old Sri Lankan Captain speaks of the forthcoming Indian tour and the preparations for the World Cup in the Caribbean in March.

Q: What do you expect from this short tour of India?
A: It is always a challenge to play in India which is tough place to play cricket. We have not fared very well lately in India and I think this offers us a good opportunity to put the record straight.

Q: With the World Cup only a few weeks away, will you be using these four ODI’s to try out things?
A: Yes, we will try a few things in India, but not too many things. We have a balanced side going into India so we have are options open.

Q: Does that mean you have finalized most things for the World Cup?
A: Yes, but we still have to look at a few more combinations before the World Cup.

Q: Any idea of the type of wickets that will be on offer in West Indies for the World Cup?
A: Tom Moody visited the Caribbean earlier this month and he says that most of the wickets have been laid ahead of the world cup and there are also two or three new venues. So they are going to offer some seam movement as they will be fresh. However it will not be those bouncy type of wickets that West Indies had 10-15 years ago, but there will be some pace on it. Domestic matches played on these tracks have indicated that they are not slow and low.

Q: Are we now settled with our openers and the batting?
A: Sanath and Upul have got us off to some great starts. They complement each other very well. Then my presence at No. 3 is mainly to make the best use of the power plays. But we also have the option of having Marvan who is an opening batsman at number three, something we tried in New Zealand and it worked for us, in which case I will drop to number five. Then Sangakkara comes in at number four and we also have a few inform batsmen coming into the side, so the batting is fairly settled.

Q: Are you comfortable with Marvan batting at number five?
A: Marvan will be used in the middle to consolidate an innings. He is experienced and knows what to do when he bats in the middle. He tackles the slow bowlers very well and rotates the strike constantly. In fact he batted at number five before the injury so that is not an issue.

Q: What about our bowling attack, the medium pacers?
A: After a long time we have got a very attacking unit that can bowl out a side inside the 50 overs which I think is really great. Lasith Malinga has brought in something new to the table, Vaas as always is bowling extremely well, then we have Maharoof who has worked very hard and is now taking wickets. In addition we also have Dilhara who is very aggressive, then Zoysa, Kulasekera and Ruchira are also in the squad.

Q: Do you think we will need a fourth medium pacer in addition to Vaas, Malinga and Maharoof?
A: Obviously, it will depend on the surface that we are playing on. For instance in the last game against New Zealand we went in with four medium pacers and they did the job for us. But if the wicket is conducive to spin we will not need a fourth seamer, instead we can rely on a spinner like Malinga Bandara or Dilshan or Arnold if they are playing to support Murali and Jayasuriya.

Q: You opted to rest Murali and Vaas, what about Lasith Malinga?
A: We will definitely not play him in all games, maybe one or two games only. We are aware that we have to manage him and keep him going. He is young, has a lot of energy and he likes to play every game-but that is definitely not the ideal situation for us.

Q: Lasith Malingas unique action, Is it something to worry about?
A: He has grown up with that action and his body is used to it. He is young and fit now but with a lot cricket ahead, he is bound to have a lot of wear and tear. There is no doubt that he is putting a lot of strain on his back, so we need to watch him closely and manage him if we are to get the best out of him.

Q: Captaincy is something that has been thrust on you suddenly. How do you feel to be captaining your country in a World Cup?
A: It has been a ride for me since the last two years or so. From a situation of not being fit enough to be a vice captain not so long ago, here I am captaining Sri Lanka and in a World Cup.

Q: Did you expect it?
A: No. It was totally unexpected. I never thought of captaining after being removed from the vice captaincy. I was only doing a job as Captain until Marvan was fit and ready. But after having a chat with Marvan and the Selectors they wanted me to carry on with the captaincy.