Mahela a rare brand of cricketer: Mathews
17 Aug 2014 11:15 PM GMT
Cricketers like Mahela Jayawardene come around very rarely and younger players in the team have a lot to learn from his fighting attitude, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said just ahead the ongoing second Test, Mahela Jayawardene’s final long format game, against Pakistan.
‘As we all know, it’s going to be Mahela’s last game. It’s an emotional moment for everyone. When you walk into a game, we want to win all the time, that’s the attitude we take, regardless of what’s happening around. We want to keep our focus and play it for Mahela,’ Mathews said.
‘It will take a long time to replace him because he’s the kind of player that comes around very rarely. We can’t do his service justice with words. As a team we’re very sad he’s retiring. The best thing we can do is play well in this match and win it for him,’ he added.
Mathews said the team, especially the younger players, will miss Jayawardene’s presence in the dressing room.
‘Mahela is a real fighter. If you go into a warm-up match with him, he’ll still try to fight and win.
That’s the kind of character he is, he’s an unbelievable player. He puts options on the table and he’s the most senior guy in the team, and we’re going to miss him so much. The younger guys, including me, have learned so much from him. Up to now, he has supported me right throughout from day one, and I’m really thankful to him for that,’ Mathews said.
‘As we all know, it’s going to be Mahela’s last game. It’s an emotional moment for everyone. When you walk into a game, we want to win all the time, that’s the attitude we take, regardless of what’s happening around. We want to keep our focus and play it for Mahela,’ Mathews said.
‘It will take a long time to replace him because he’s the kind of player that comes around very rarely. We can’t do his service justice with words. As a team we’re very sad he’s retiring. The best thing we can do is play well in this match and win it for him,’ he added.
Mathews said the team, especially the younger players, will miss Jayawardene’s presence in the dressing room.
‘Mahela is a real fighter. If you go into a warm-up match with him, he’ll still try to fight and win.
That’s the kind of character he is, he’s an unbelievable player. He puts options on the table and he’s the most senior guy in the team, and we’re going to miss him so much. The younger guys, including me, have learned so much from him. Up to now, he has supported me right throughout from day one, and I’m really thankful to him for that,’ Mathews said.
Next Story
