It cannot be a coincidence that some of the greatest batsmen of all times – Sir Donald Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Allan Border among others – have all been of such diminutive size.
And it’s time to add another name to that list of legends – Mahela Jayawardene.
The Sri Lankan ace, a mainstay of their batting ever since he started his Test journey with a refined knock of 66 against India in this same month 17 years ago, will draw the curtains on a fabulous career when he plays his last Test tomorrow against Pakistan at Colombo.
Even though Jayawardene’s numbers are awe-inspiring, they hardly do justice to what he meant to Sri Lanka, or his stature in world cricket. In 148 Test matches, the 37-year-old has made 34 scores in excess of 100 and 59 half centuries.
And considering that an average of 40 plus is considered good in the longest format of the game, Jayawardene has 50.02 against his name with at least two more chances to improve on it.
I once asked Gavaskar if his lack of height played a role in his success.
His answer was: “Of course. Bouncers flew over me, I could reach the yorkers quicker, and I could not chase the wide deliveries as far as some of the taller batsmen did.”
What Gavaskar did not add was that all these players played with the straightest of bats, greatest of grit, and the biggest of hearts. That’s something that Mahela has also done all his career.
There are a few facts that make Jayawardene a standout superstar.
To start with, no one comes even close to him for playing the sport in its truest spirit. Of all the top players in the world, he has the unique distinction of not having a single on-field controversy against his name.
Apart from a couple of skirmishes with the Sri Lankan board late in his career – when he spoke out on the national team not getting paid their dues after they had won the ICC World T20 earlier this year – his conduct has been as spotless as his cricketing whites.
Secondly, he is one of the very few batsmen who have made the transition across all formats of the game with the utmost ease. His ODI average of 32.9 in 420 matches with a strike rate of 78.06, and a T20 average of 31.76 with a strike rate of 133.18 are as commendable as his prowess in the five-day version.
And you must add to that the fact he never compromised his technique when switching formats.
Finally, he played a leading role in ensuring Sri Lanka did not slip after the highs of winning the 1996 World Cup, when they lost two of their biggest stalwarts in Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva.
Mahela was surely helped by the emergence of Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas, but he was the fulcrum of that process.
So wonderful was he with the willow, it is easy to overlook how good he was in taking those stunning catches in the slips, and everywhere else. His tally of 202 is second only to Rahul Dravid, who had the benefit of 33 extra innings for his world record of 210.
When Jayawardene walks out of the Sinhalese Sports Club ground for one last time, the whole of Sri Lanka will surely be in mourning.
But it will also be a sad day for world cricket, which will lose a gentleman.
Sadly, there are not many left in the game today.
