16 Facts about Sanath Jayasuriya: The Matara Mauler

Sanath Jayasuriya was perhaps the most destructive batsmen Sri Lanka has ever seen. The left-hander aptly nicknamed as the ‘Matara Mauler’ could maul the best of the bowling attacks during his prime. He was simply reckless at times with his batting approach. His fierce cuts and lofted cover drives were a spectacular sighting for any fan.

He revolutionised ODI batting with this aggressive batting, taking advantage of the early fielding restrictions by smashing the opening bowlers for quick runs rather than resorting to the prevalent tactic of building up momentum gradually. Jayasuriya’s bowling skills were more than just handy. He was a canny left-arm spinner who relied more on pace variations than turn.

1.Born on:

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya was born on June 30, 1969, in the coastal city of Matara, Sri Lanka. He was born in the Dunstan and Breeda Jayasuriya family and has an elder brother, Chandana Jayasuriya.

2. Early cricketing life:

He was educated at St. Servatius’ College, Matara, where his cricketing talents were honed by his school principal, G.L. Galappathy, and cricket coach, Lionel Wagasinghe. He excelled in cricket while at St. Servatius College, Matara and captained the college cricket team at the annual St. Thomas’–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter in 1988.

3. An outstanding cricket right from the beginning:

Jayasuriya was picked as the ‘Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year’ in the Outstation Segment in 1988. He also received the awards for the ‘Best Batsman’ and ‘Best All-rounder’ in the Outstation Segment at the Observer School Cricket Awards ceremony in the same year.

4. Part of the inaugural Under-19 World Cup:

Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia in 1988 and was subsequently selected for a tour in Pakistan a few months later with the Sri Lanka ‘B’ team, where he made two unbeaten double centuries. Shortly afterwards he was drafted into the national side for the tour to Australia in 1989–90.

5. Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning hero:

Jayasuriya was one of the key players in Sri Lanka’s victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup where he was adjudged Man of the Tournament in recognition of his all-around contributions. He scored 221 runs and took 6 wickets in 6 matches including two half-centuries (one of which came against India in the semi-final). His tally was quite mediocre statistically speaking but his overall impact on the opposition was perhaps the greatest.

6. A chief performer:

Jayasuriya was a devastating performer who ensured that Sri Lanka won almost 80% of the matches in which he scored 50 plus scores in limited overs cricket.

7. The first ever triple centurion:

Sanath Jayasuriya held the record for the highest Test score made by a Sri Lankan, 340 against India in 1997. Playing in the 1st Test during the 1997 home series against India, Jayasuriya drubbed the Indian bowlers for nearly two and a half days playing 578 balls in his 799 minutes stay at the crease.

8. Pummels the Indians again:

He holds the record for the second fastest fifty in ODIs which he scored off just 17 balls against Pakistan in 1996.  Jayasuriya’s record stayed about 19 years before De Villiers surpassed it on 18 January 2015.

9. A dubious record:

Jayasuriya shares a dubious record with James Anderson for having the most expensive figures in a T20 international, having been hit for 64 runs in the maximum of 4 overs.

10. A distinguished record:

He is the only ODI cricketer with more than 12,000 runs and 300 wickets.

11. The six-hitter:

He is second only to Shahid Afridi, with most number of ODI sixes in career. Sanath hit 270 sixes and Afridi hit 334 sixes up to date.

12. Most remarkable feat:

Jayasuriya’s most remarkable achievement as a batsman stretches across all three formats. The Sri Lankan cricket team holds the record for the Highest Innings Totals in Tests, One-Day Internationals and T20I at one time. In each of these ‘Highest Innings Totals’, the left-hander was the leading scorer for Sri Lanka.

13. More ODI wicket than Shane Warne:

Sanath Jayasuriya has more ODI wickets than Shane Warne. Jayasuriya has 323 wickets in his 445 ODI long career whereas Warney finished his illustrious career with 293 wickets in 194 matches.

14. Personal life:

Early in the year 2000, Sanath married Sandra Tania Rosemary De Silva. They have three kids Savindi Jayasuriya, Yalindi Jayasuriya and Ranuka Jayasuriya.

15. First cricket to be appointed as UN Goodwill Ambassador:

He is also the first cricketer to be appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador (by UNAIDS, Geneva) for his commitment to prevention of HIV/AIDS among young people in Sri Lanka.

16. Enters politics:

He entered politics in February 2010 as a candidate for Matara District. His party is the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) of president Mahinda Rajapaksa. He secured the most number of preferential votes from the Matara District by obtaining 74,352 votes. On 10 June 2015, Jayasuriya was appointed as Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. He was in office until the Parliament dissolved on 26 June 2015.