Ajantha Mendis & Murali spin Zimbabwe out in Harare

Sri Lanka had little trouble capitalising on Zimbabwe's batting capitulation, reaching their victory target in a little over 33 overs to win the first one-day international by six wickets in Harare.

The hosts lost their last seven wickets for three runs - including six successive ducks - to be bowled out for only 127 by Sri Lanka spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

And despite the early run out of Upul Tharanga, Sri Lanka cruised to victory with Kumar Sangakkara (50 not out) leading the way.

Zimbabwe seemed well placed at 124 for three but collapsed to be all out in only 31 of their scheduled 50 overs as Murali (four for 14) and Mendis (three for 26) ran riot.

It was the introduction of Murali which set the slide in irresistible motion, with wicketkeeper-batsman Tatenda Taibu powerless to stop the procession of potential partners.

Former captain Taibu finished unbeaten on 36, having shared a 41-run fourth-wicket stand with Stuart Matsikenyeri which appeared to be putting the hosts on course for a 200-plus total.

Instead, once Matsikenyeri was bowled by Murali the Sri Lankan spin twins were unstoppable.

A shellshocked Zim side got the start they needed as Tharanga was run out after just three balls.

But a partnership of 57 between Mahela Udawatte (38) and Sangakkara settled Sri Lankan nerves, before Elton Chigumbura removed the opener.

Spinner Ray Price bagged a couple of wickets of his own but could not match the devastation caused by Murali and Mendis and, with the scores level, Sangakkara struck the ball to the long-on boundary to bring up his own half century and Sri Lanka's victory.

Mendis a bigger threat than Murali - Utseya

November 20, 2008

Prosper Utseya, the Zimbabwe captain, believes Ajantha Mendis will be a bigger threat than his Sri Lankan spin partner Muttiah Muralitharan in the five-match one-day series starting on Thursday in Harare.

"We were lucky to play Mendis in a four-day game and we have an idea of what to expect from him," Utseya said. "Murali didn't play in that warm-up game, but I don't think he's as effective as Mendis. But basically it's all about us reacting to whatever they dish out."

Voted the ICC Emerging Player of the Year for 2008, Mendis has enjoyed a rich vein of form since his debut earlier this year. He was the highest wicket-taker in both the Tests and the ODIs during Sri Lanka's previous home series against India in July-August, and was also top of the bowling charts in the T20 Canada. He took 11 wickets from three matches, more than making up for the absence of Muralitharan, who was rested for the tournament.

Though the Sri Lankan squad bears a young look - Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas among the notable absentees - Utseya said he was expecting a tough series. "Obviously, on paper they are better than us, but in terms of what we can do I think we have done well in our preparations and we can only expect positive results to come out of those preparations," he said. Zimbabwe have not had much action this year due to the political turmoil in the country. At home, they last played West Indies in a five-match ODI series back in December 2007, which they lost 1-3.

A poor start to 2008 saw them being blanked 5-0 in Pakistan in an ODI series. There was not-too-productive T20 Canada in October, and though they shared the honours in the tri-series in Kenya, they currently find themselves at No.11 in the ICC ODI rankings, behind Associate member Ireland.

"We haven't played much cricket this year, but from the little action we've had and the preparations, I think we are prepared for the challenge," Utseya said. "We can't be using lack of international matches as an excuse.

"We just need to stick to the basics because whenever you play against top bowlers, you have to go back to the basics. We just need to believe in ourselves and do the right things, because a good ball will trouble any batsman, including the best in the world, and that's all we need to work on."

Ajantha Mendis hurts Zimbabweans | Srilanka's Tour of Zimbabwe 2008

November 12, 2008:

Sri Lanka began their tour of Zimbabwe in bullish fashion, dismissing a Zimbabwe Select XI for 159 on a rain-affected first day of their warm-up match in Bulawayo. Ajantha Mendis picked up four wickets and in reply, Upul Tharanga and Mahela Udawatte propelled the tourists to 50 without loss in 14 overs.

The umpires twice suspended play because of drizzle and eventually ended the day 20 minutes early due to bad light.

Zimbabwe’s innings began poorly when Chamu Chibhabha steered a very wide delivery to gully, and it never gained any real momentum other than a brief seventh-wicket renaissance of 46 from Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya which lent the score a degree of respectability. They missed the experience and bravery of Tatenda Taibu, who was dropped in rather odd circumstances. Dilhara Fernando took full advantage early on, picking up two of the first four wickets to fall, including the promising Hamilton Masakadza leg-before for 26.

It wasn’t long before Mendis was brought into the attack and he soon bowled Regis Chakabva to get his name on the scoreboard. When he followed that up with the wicket of Keith Dabengwa, also bowled, Zimbabwe had slipped to 90 for 6. However, Chigumbura and Utseya staved off the collapse with a vital seven-wicket stand of 46.

Aware of the situation, both players dropped anchor and gradually shovelled Zimbabwe’s total past 100, but Fernando returned to have Utseya caught behind for 22 while Chigumbura - who had spent over two hours at the crease - was beaten by Mendis. Angelo Mathews mopped up a flaccid tail.

Zimbabwe squandered an early chance when Mahela Udawatte edged Christopher Mpofu but Stuart Matsikenyeri at second slip failed to hold onto a routine catch. Tharanga went on the attack and cracked five fours in his unbeaten 31 while Udawatte ended on 17 as Sri Lanka made brisk headway to reach 50 in 14 overs.

Unless the weather plays a major part, this match appears unlikely to go into a fourth day.

Brief scores: Sri Lankans 50 for 0 (Tharanga 31*, Udawatte 17*) trail Zimbabwe Select XI 159 (Chigumbura 33, Mendis 4-59) by 109 runs

Ajantha Mendis is a freak, says Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapura

AJANTHA Mendis is a ‘freaky phenomenon’ who could surpass spin greats Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralitharan if he stays injury-free for at least 10 years, Sri Lanka’s first Test captain has said.
Bandula Warnapura, who led Sri Lankan greats such as Roy Dias, Duleep Mendis and Arjuna Ranatunga against England when the island nation got Test status in 1982, even compared Mendis to Don Bradman, calling them ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ cricketers.
“From what I have seen so far of Mendis I have no hesitation in saying that he could be to bowling what the great Don Bradman was to batting,” the former opener told the Gulf Times yesterday.
“In fact, if you permit me, I’d even say Mendis is a freak. He is a freaky phenomenon, a once-in-a-lifetime player like Bradman who could break all records if he stays healthy,” enthused Warnapura, who is visiting Qatar as part of his work as a development officer with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
“Look at Bradman. He has a Test match average of 99.96. Can anyone beat it? Never. Mendis could also end up breaking all bowling records,” predicted Warnapura.
Mendis shot into the limelight at the Asia Cup earlier this year where he foxed batsmen by sometimes bowling six different balls in one over. His mesmerising spells helped Sri Lanka win the tournament beating India and Pakistan in the process.
Bowling off a longish run-up, he delivers a mixture of googlies, off-breaks, top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks and is credited with inventing the carom ball, a fizzing delivery released with a flick of his middle finger.
In the final of the Asia Cup against India he claimed figures of 6 for 13 and his 17 scalps in the event earned him the man of the series award.
Mendis proved his performance at the Asia Cup was no fluke when he made his Test debut against India last July and almost single-handedly routed them, taking a whopping 26 wickets in three Tests which Sri Lanka won 2-1.
His first scalp was Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid bowled by the carrom ball that pegged back the batsman’s off-stump after pitching on middle. He claimed eight wickets for 132 in the Test, the best figures recorded by a Sri Lankan bowler making his debut.
Mendis was praised to the skies by the master Muralitharan himself after the match.
“When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket,” Muralitharan said.
Mendis collected his first ten-wicket haul in the very next match, but Sri Lanka lost the match thanks to a double century by Virender Sehwag and some fine bowling by Harbhajan Singh who also claimed 10 wickets.. But with 26 wickets (ave.18.38) in the series, Mendis set a world record for most scalps by a bowler on his debut in a three-Test by series.
Mendis won the player of the series award for his efforts and the Indians’ reputation as the best players of spin bowling took a hammering. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the Sri Lankans lived up to captain Mahela Jayawardene’s promise of not allowing Sachin Tendulkar to break Brian Lara’s Test record of most runs on Lankan soil.
Warnapura said Mendis made his international debut at the right time.
“Some say Mendis should have been thrust onto the world stage much earlier, but if you ask me he was introduced at just about the perfect time because many promising spinners have just faded away after making their debuts as teenagers,” said Warnapura.
“At 23 Mendis was seasoned enough. He had the maturity to handle pressure unlike some so-called prodigies who just disappeared after being mauled, their confidence totally shattered.
“They were not ready, but the selectors were ready to expose them and they suffered badly.”

Must-Read Books >> | Mystery Spinner UNCOVERED

Gideon Haigh's biography of Iverson painstakingly unearths the story of a talented misfit

Steven Lynch

October 18, 2008

Suddenly "mystery spin" is back in the cricket news, thanks to Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka. Mendis' mesmerising carrom delivery, flicked out by a finger curled up underneath the ball, has only been seriously attempted in international cricket before by a couple of Australians: there was John Gleeson, for a few years from the late 1960s, and a generation before that, there was Jack Iverson.

Big and awkward, Iverson couldn't bat, and he couldn't field. He was mentally fragile, convinced that he could never get certain batsmen out, and easily discouraged. All round, as his biographer claims, he was probably the worst pure cricketer ever to play at the highest level.

But what Iverson could do was bowl, mainly using the homespun finger-flicking method he'd honed by fooling around with a table-tennis ball, and he was remarkably accurate with it. In his one Test series, against England in 1950-51 when he was already 35, he took 21 wickets at 15.23, confounding several decent players of orthodox spin. In a short first-class career - 34 matches over five seasons - he claimed 157 wickets at less than 20 apiece. Many judges, Richie Benaud and Keith Miller among them, thought that Iverson would have won Australia the 1953 Ashes series (they eventually lost it 0-1), but worried by what he thought was a loss of form, Iverson had played only twice for Victoria in the preceding home season.

Such a short career doesn't, on the face of it, seem to warrant a biography running to nearly 400 pages. If the writer was anyone other than the erudite Gideon Haigh, you'd be worried by the admission that he never met Iverson, who committed suicide in 1973, and never saw him bowl (mind you, they did go the same school). Others might have resorted to listing the matches Iverson played and reeling off tedious club performances, but that's not the Haigh style, fortunately. He spoke to everyone he could who had seen Iverson play. He tracked down his daughters (one of whom wasn't terribly co-operative at first) and his sister. And he looked up obscure articles in the Tarrengower Times (reading every edition from 1934 to 1936, the years when Iverson was working nearby) and the Romsey Examiner. At the end you really feel you know this mystery man. The whole thing is a delight, a gripping (no pun intended) read, and an object lesson to anyone tempted to try their hand at biography.

From the book:
"I was offered myriad examples of Jack's cricket naivety, particularly in the field. Apparently, he sometimes had difficulty remembering the names of fielding positions - Lindsay Hassett would have to point out where he wanted Jack to stand. He also found elusive the understanding that fielders should move in as the bowler approached - he preferred to stand still, and rarely tried to stop a ball running either side of him.

On the field, he sometimes said things that to lifetime cricketers sounded a little strange. Bill Johnston recalls how, during the first Shield match he played with Jack for Victoria at the Adelaide Oval in November 1950, Jack came up to him between overs while Lance Duldig was batting and said: 'You've got to get this fellow out, Bill.'

'Hang on,' Johnston replied. 'You've got eight balls in your over, same as I have.'

'Well,' said Jack, 'he got a century against us last time.' Johnston walked away wondering at the assumption that a batsman who'd scored a century once would naturally do so again.

[But] no-one ever seems to have been too fussed by Jack's idiosyncrasies, and no-one told a story against Jack more often than Jack himself."

Mystery Spinner: The Story of Jack Iverson
by Gideon Haigh
Text Publishing, 1999