Herath the Warrior

Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath, heavier the name more heavier and the greater are the contribution of this man to Srilankan Cricket. Over the span of 17 years from the age of 21 to 38 . He has seen everything in Srilankan cricket , playing as a junior with likes of Arvinda de silva , Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jaysuriya and mentoring the players like Ajantha Mendis, Tharindu Kushal , Jeffrey Vandersey, Suraj Randiv . He has seen Srilankan cricket struggling after 1999, then reincarnation in early part of the previous decade that resulted in finals of 5 World Cup finals in span of 14 years and then after the retirements of Mahela and Sanga the fall in standards of  Srilankan cricket again . He is the last link that joins cricket in Srilanka to its golden era and that increases his importance many a times when cricket in Srilanka seems to be faltering .

It was year 1999 when Herath made his debut against the touring Australian side. Srilanka exited in first round and as a result the old warhorses were shown the door and Arjuna Ranatunge was removed from the captaincy. Sanath Jaysuriya was made the captain and numbers of fresh faces were given chance, one of them was 21 year old Herath who was put against the best Australians. Herath though proved to be mysterious for the Australians with his carom ball .The Aussies didn’t have any idea how to play him and he is credited a lot for Srilanka’s first and only test series win over Australians. However despite of an impressive debut he was dropped from the team and in next 10 years could play only 14 tests with 31 wickets to his name .It was difficult for him to be  in team with Murli on peak .

Herath though like a warrior never gave up and continued to play in county cricket .It was in 2009 while playing in England he got call from selectors to join the test team immediately against the touring Pakistan. That was the defining moment in his career as he grabbed the opportunity with both the hands . He ripped the heart out of Pakistan’s batting line up picking up 15 wickets . It was the defining moment in his  career . Before that series, in 10 years from age of 21-31 , Herath had only 36 wickets in 14 tests but after that in next 7 years from the age of 31-38 Herath played 61 Tests and took 330 wickets . He have been the lone warrior in Srilankan bowling after the retirements of Murli and Vass and had been the constructor of many of Srilanka's remarkable wins since these two retired . It was he who led Srilanka in wins over Pakistan in 2009 and 2012, against India in 2015 in Galle when he took the earth under the feet of Indians.

In 2011, Herath took 41 wickets including a Marathon 157-7 at SSC against Michel Clarke's men in the heat of Colombo. Later that year in Durban he  spunned Srilanka to one of the greatest win of their test history against South Africa  , with match figures of 9-128 , he was adjudged man of the match, he proved that he didn't needed home wickets to weave his magic . This was the performance which gave Herath the recognisation he deserved . The appreciation started to reflect in his performance, From 2012-14 , Herath was in form of his life , and was termed as the best spinner in the world with  Saeed Ajmal . During this time he took staggering 141 wickets in  23 test  with more than 6 wickets per test and at an average of just 25 , Against England he led Srilanka to win in Galle test taking 12 wickets in the Match . England were ranked as  no.1 test team at that time. Against Pakistan he took 15 wickets and contributed in series win . Later that year he was at his best against Kiwis when he took 11 wickets in Galle .  In 2013 he only played 4 test but still managed to take 25 wickets . On Australia tour where Srilanka lost miserably by 3-0, he was one of the few players to have saved his reputation. In 2014 while talks started that Herath was catching age as he turned 36 ,   He took 56 wickets in just 9 test and at Galle he mesmerised the Pakistanis once again with his spin taking 14 wickets in the match , in the first innings he took 9-127 which was his best performance in an innings.

However at 37 with weak knees already operated it was clear that Herath was in twilight of his career but he had never let his physical limitations affect his game. Even at this stage of the career he was the biggest match winner Srilanka had in test cricket. However 2015 proved that Herath too was a human being affected by these limitations.  In 2015 his form and fitness both slumped against Pakistan he took only 2 wicket in 2 tests at an average of 109 but what was concerning that he looked ineffective and was dropped for third test. However without him the limit of the Srilankan bowling was exposed as Pakistan chased 377 to win easily . As a result of it he was called back against India and it took him just one test to show his worth. With 7-48 in Second Innings he  took his team to a remarkable win against the Indians. Srilanka though lost the series and Herath was not as effective in the remaining test however it was clear he was still the match winner and he proved against West Indies when he took 15 wickets in 2 tests and was player of the series. He completed his 300 test wickets against England and later against Australia he proved to be the nightmare picking up staggering 28 wickets and against Zimbabwe recently he took 19 wickets and completed 350 test wickets

At the Start of the series against Bangladesh  Herath is closing on 400 test  wickets. He himself had said that he might not play long enough and like Misbah ul haqhas set himself target for playing series to series basis . He might retire soon and may miss on 400 test wickets or we might soon see him reaching that milestone. What ever happens he will leave his own legacy that will live forever in World Cricket.