Mendis could be Sri Lanka’s latest star, says Mahela
AMID the carnage of their spectacular implosion in Leeds, Sri Lanka could at least take one small sliver of comfort from the performance of Kusal Mendis.
The 21-year-old was the only Sri Lankan to post a half-century in either innings and indeed was one of only three batsmen to pass 50 in the match.
The other two, England’s Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, had the significant advantage of not having to face James Anderson or Stuart Broad.
Kusal made his Test debut against West Indies in Colombo last October.
But in conditions that couldn’t have been more different – and difficult – to face, the youngster showed his mettle and fighting qualities from the No 3 position to score a maiden half-century in his fourth Test.
The counter-attacking innings of 53 from 68 balls was even more impressive given that he had started it on a pair.
Dropped twice he may have been, but Kusal’s abilities have drawn high praise from one of the two retired batting legends who Sri Lanka now miss so badly.
“Kusal’s a player,” says Mahela Jayawardene. “He’s captained the U19s in a World Cup, been scoring runs in domestic cricket and he’s a player Sri Lankan cricket has invested in.
“He made his debut last year and then played in New Zealand as well. Those weren’t easy conditions but he has been asked to bat at three and has played really well.
“He’s a very steady player, leaves a lot of balls and waits until the ball comes into the areas where he can score runs.
“He shows a lot of maturity for a young cricketer and at 21 playing in these conditions it will benefit Sri Lankan cricket.
“Three Test matches in these conditions will go a long way to helping his development.”
Kusal now has three half-centuries from five innings so far on this tour, while none of his teammates have managed more than one.
And his relatively good form in England can be partly explained by a spell playing for Southgate in the Middlesex League back in 2014.
Fresh out of school, it must have been a good challenge for the then 19-year-old.
Jayawardene, though, is hoping that the rest of Sri Lanka’s batsmen can turn up and show some fight over the next two Tests at Durham and Lord’s.
“The reality is there is inexperience in the batting line-up and quite a few young faces in the squad,” he said. “But it is a huge investment for Sri Lankan cricket for these new players to experience English conditions and play against a quality opposition. It’s all about how much belief they have in themselves and their ability. But they really need to lift their game.”
Kusal has a chance to do that in the second Test starting today and if he can, Sri Lanka might at least believe that they have found one new superstar to fill the void left at No 3 by Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement last year.
Then all they would need is another Mahela…