On
Sunday, Angelo Matthews will become only the 6th Sri Lankan player
ever to play 100 Tests, the achievement is itself a phenomenal one but when we
know what Matthews have to go through especially in recent years, the milestone
becomes more special, Play till Stumps dedicate this piece to Sri Lanka’s never
tiring servant
Right
from the childhood Angelo Matthews had high ambitions. His father and brother
were role models for him and since the age of 8 years he aspired to be like
Chaminda Vaas. He was talented and a clever tactician. It was one of the reasons
why he was blooded in the team only at the age of 21. Only seven months after
his baptism in International Cricket, Matthews played his first Test against
Pakistan at Galle in July 2009. It is also a coincidence that 13 years later
Matthews will be playing his 100th Test against same opponent.
The
challenge of playing 100 Tests is enormous, it absorbs lot of energy and drains
a player mentally and physically. It is the prime reason why only Six Sri
Lankans have till date been able to achieve the feat. Even players like Arjuna
Ranatunga, Arvinda De Silva and Rangana Herath were not able to reach to the
milestone. They were left exhausted by the time they have reached to the final
stage of their respective careers.
 |
| Angelo Matthews- Here on first day of Test Cricket- 4th July 2009 |
When
Matthews started his Test career he was fitted in the team as an allrounder and
hailed Sri Lanka’s next big thing someone who could have been country’s own
Jacques Kallis. In the initial years he performed amicably but then the bowling
withered away. The workload was enormous and at times he was the lone warrior
in the team. The pressure he has to absorb post retirements of players like
Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samarweera, Tilakaratne Dilshan
was enormous. There came stages when he gave up the bowling totally because of
the captaincy and being premier batsman in the team. Matthews’s career could be
divided in three parts
1. The
Young and Promising Matthews (July 2009- Sep 2015)
Angelo
Davis Matthews bursted on the international arena at the age of 21 on Zimbabwe
tour, a season later became Sri Lanka’s 112th Test cricketer. In his
first series against Pakistan, he was impressive as an allrounder. He scored
191 runs (47.75 average) and picked 4 wickets (34.75). Against Australia in
2011, he notched up his first Test hundred, a couple of seasons later he scored
412 runs at an average of 103 against Pakistan. This was the time when the
experts had started to hail him and Dinesh Chandimal as the successor of Mahela
Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara who were on the last leg of their respective
careers.
 |
| The 132 run partnership with Lasith Mallinga against Australia in 2010 saw team through a stunning victory |
In
2012-13 he was appointed as the captain of the national cricket team and at the
age of 25 years and 279 days he became the youngest Sri Lankan Test Captain.
The moment of pinnacle came on the England tour of 2014. Sri Lanka registered a
historic 1-0 victory on English Soil and Matthews was instrumental in the win.
He was not only brilliant in tactics as Captain, but he played the innings of
his Test career at Leeds.
At
Leeds, Headingly, Sri Lanka scored 257 in the first innings, while England
replied with 365. After trailing by 108 runs in the first innings, Sri Lanka
were struggling at 277-7, with of lead of only 169, the home team were
favourites but the as a captain Matthews played the innings that went into
echelon of Sri Lanka’s cricket folklore. Along with Rangana Herath he added 149
runs on the 8th wicket partnership and by the time he was out for
160 he has ensured Sri Lanka get a healthy score to defend.
 |
| Angelo Matthews bowling was useful in early years but withered over the years |
And
when Sri Lanka sealed a historic victory in the fading light on the final day
it was the peak moment of his career.
The
guard in Sri Lankan cricket was changing though Thilan Samarweera had already
retired, and Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara followed in 2015. It left
a huge void. In spite of Mathhew’s best Sri Lanka lost the home series against
Pakistan (2-1) after defeating them consecutively three times and then against
India (2-1). Against India their proud home record was breached as the lost their
first ever home series against them in 22 years. This was also the start of the
era for problems for both Sri Lanka and Matthews.
From
July 2009 till Sep 2015, Angelo Matthews had played 52 Tests and scored 3801
runs at an average of 52.06. He also had taken 29 wickets at 49.17 in these
Tests.
 |
| His 160 at Headingly could be termed as his best innings |
2.
The Decline (Oct 2015- Nov 2018)
The
Decline of the Sri Lankan Cricket and Angelo Matthews started simultaneously.
The retirement of the senior players and the increase pressure on him to led to
decline in his form. Between October 2015 to Nov 2018, Matthews played 26 Tests
and scored 1495 runs at a dismal average of 29.90. Injuries, tussle with the
management and heavy expectations to fill the void of huge void left by the
seniors were the reasons why he fell from the list of top batsmen in the world.
 |
| The retirement saw decline in batting and number of controversies, here with Chandika Hathurusinghe with he had troublesome relationship |
3. Regaining
Consistency (Dec 2018 till date)
Matthews
have gone into serious rut and that needed to be broken somewhere and the New
Zealand tour in late 2018 helped him to come out from the same. At Basin Reserve
after following on, Sri Lanka were in trouble of innings loss when Matthews
made a fighting 120* to snatch a draw from the home team. It was the turning
point of his career. Since then, he has played 21 Tests and 1580 runs at a
remarkable average of 54.80. Without breaking the roof, he has been
consistently scoring hundreds for Sri Lanka.
 |
| Matthews @100 |
 |
| His 100 at Basin Reserve in Dec 2018 saw the return of Matthews 2.0 |
On
Sunday, when he will walk out at the Galle for his 100th Test, his
family, his fans and teammates will be there proud of what he has achieved in
his career and for his country. It has been quite a journey from watching his hero
Chaminda Vaas lifting the World Cup on the night of 17th March 1996
at Lahore, as a 8 year old and then walking as a senior statesman of his
country for 100th time.
Angelo
Matthews’s Career
Batting
|
Matches |
Innings |
n/o |
Runs |
Average |
100 |
50 |
Catches |
|
|
Tests |
99 |
176 |
24 |
6876 |
45.23 |
13 |
38 |
70 |
|
ODI |
218 |
188 |
48 |
5835 |
41.67 |
03 |
40 |
53 |
|
T-20I |
78 |
63 |
18 |
1148 |
25.51 |
00 |
05 |
24 |
|
First
Class |
142 |
241 |
33 |
9958 |
47.87 |
23 |
50 |
103 |
|
List
A |
279 |
243 |
58 |
7199 |
38.91 |
04 |
51 |
81 |
|
Domestic
T20 |
173 |
148 |
36 |
2788 |
24.89 |
00 |
11 |
60 |
Bowling
|
Format |
Matches |
Balls |
Runs |
Wickets |
Average |
Best |
Strike Rate |
|
Tests |
99 |
3930 |
1766 |
33 |
53.51 |
4-44 |
119 |
|
ODI |
218 |
5191 |
4003 |
120 |
33.35 |
6-20 |
43.20 |
|
T-20I |
78 |
1029 |
1200 |
38 |
31.57 |
3-16 |
27 |
|
First
Class |
142 |
6521 |
2948 |
63 |
46.79 |
5-47 |
46.79 |
|
List
A |
279 |
6132 |
4670 |
151 |
30.92 |
6-20 |
40.6 |
|
Domestic
T20 |
173 |
2200 |
2723 |
85 |
32.03 |
4-19 |
25.8 |
Most
Tests for Sri Lanka (Including 2nd Test vs Pakistan 2022)
|
No |
Name |
Matches |
|
1 |
Mahela Jayawardene |
149 |
|
2 |
Kumar Sangakkara |
134 |
|
3 |
Muttiah Murlitharan |
132 |
|
4 |
Chaminda Vass |
111 |
|
5 |
Sanath Jayasuriya |
110 |
|
6 |
Angelo Matthews |
100 |
Most
Tests as Sri Lankan Captain (Including 2nd Test vs Pakistan 2022)
|
No |
Name |
Matches |
|
1 |
Arjuna
Ranatunga |
56 |
|
2 |
Sanath
Jayasuriya |
38 |
|
2 |
Mahela
Jaywardene |
38 |
|
4 |
Angelo
Matthews |
34 |
Matthews is married to Heshani Silva
Absolutely incredible
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