Herath eyes milestone in farewell Test

THE signs outside Galle’s stadium proclaiming Rangana Herath as a ‘silent killer’ seem unfair. After all, Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner has always felt less like carbon monoxide than a breath of fresh air.

Forty years old, with greying temples and the paunch of an estate agent, Herath is playing his 93rd and final Test, bringing to an end one of the most unsung careers in the history of the game.

At Galle this week, England have one last chance not to underestimate him. Herath began the first Test this morning needing one wicket to complete 100 at Galle.

Only his more feted compatriot Muttiah Muralitharan (at three venues) and Jimmy Anderson (at Lord’s) have reached that landmark at a single Test ground.

And if he takes five, Herath could move from 10th in the all-time list of Test wicket-takers to seventh — a heady position for a player who has spent his career being overshadowed by Sri Lankan legends such as Murali, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

now, because of his creaking knees, he is bowing out only one game into this three-match series.

Test cricket’s last remaining link with the 20th century — Herath made his debut, also at Galle, in September 1999, removing Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting — will go with him.

As he looked back on a career that has produced 430 Test wickets at 27 — the most by any leftarm spinner — plus 92 in the whiteball formats, the list of those he wanted to thank threatened to overwhelm him.

‘Of course it’s emotional,’ he said. ‘I have played international cricket for 19 years, and before that I played junior level cricket, so when you’re retiring from the game you love it’s a sad moment. It is not an easy decision to make but I have decided this is the right time.’

Herath’s two Tests against England in Sri Lanka have produced three six-wicket hauls, including 12 at Galle six years ago.

nine of Herath’s 34 Test five-fors have come here and his wickets cost just 24 apiece. A hundred would be the perfect parting shot.

‘I didn’t have that milestone in mind until the last few months, when I realised I was close to the hundred,’ he said. ‘ It will be a remarkable achievement.’

LIAM LIVINGSTONE has quit as captain of Lancashire following the club’s relegation to division Two of the County Championship. Ex-South Africa international dane vilas is expected to succeed him.