We don’t always get it right at The Reverse Sweep, but it seems we hit the nail on the head when we wrote recently that Thilan Samaraweera had experienced a raw deal from the Sri Lankan selectors and was someone they could ill afford to leave out.
Samaraweera strikes us as a polite non-confrontational kind of chap who prefers to do his talking through weight of runs. He certainly did this with some aplomb in the Test series with South Africa. Remember he had only made the trip because of injury worries over Mahela Jayawardene.
Samaraweera seized the opportunity with both hands and eloquently demonstrated the idiocy of the decision to leave him out for the recent series with Pakistan in the UAE.
He hit a second innings hundred at Durban, which helped set-up Sri Lanka’s first ever win in South Africa and then followed this up with another hundred in the final Test in Cape Town. In total Samaraweera scored 339 runs at 67.80 – not bad for a batsman who supposedly does not flourish outside of the sub-continent.
In many ways Samaraweera’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise (especially to the Sri Lankan selectors) as he is arguably the best batsman in the world over the last five years.
A ridiculous assertion? Maybe, but if we use batting average as the sole criteria for our judgement than no-one can beat Samaraweera’s 2933 runs at 66.65 in Tests played since the beginning of 2007.
Averages aren’t everything of course, but Samaraweera’s record puts him in the undroppable category for us. Perhaps that was the reason for his machine gun celebration on reaching three figures at Kingsmead. Had he spotted a Sri Lankan selector in the ground?
Where next?
Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan
The ten most poignant cricket memories of 2009 featuring Thilan Samaraweera
No bowlers, no chance for Sri Lanka
Read our Cricket Review of 2011
Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes
If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep
Think he may have aimed it at those who aimed at him in Pakistan 2009!
I have met him a few times, he's a lovely chap a gentleman of the game. Very humble
Posted by: TB | Monday, January 09, 2012 at 17:38
Does it smell? Of course it does! Samaraweera's non-selection in the original tour party will be down to politics, but who dare unpick (as it were) that one? I am convinced that regional/cultural rivalries bedevil representative selection in a number of countries in the sub-continent. That is just an opinion, I know, but this is a website where I am allowed to express one without knowing that it will never see the light of day!
Posted by: Ian | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 08:34
I hope you don't mind my pointing out that 'the sole criteria' should be 'the sole criterion'.
Posted by: Chunter | Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 14:44
Well spotted Chunter - I feel suitably chastened!
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Friday, January 13, 2012 at 13:35