Sri Lanka's Mystery Man Mendis Has Kiwis in a Spin
Sri Lanka have Ajantha Mendis to thank after the spinner condemned New Zealand to defeat
Slowly and imperturbably, a great tradition is being handed over. When Sri Lanka's opponents talk nervously of mystery spinners, the man they most have in mind is no longer Muttiah Muralitharan but Ajantha Mendis.
It was Mendis, an off-spinner as individualistic in his own way as the incomparable Murali, who ensured Sri Lanka's unflustered passage to the World Twenty20 semi-finals. They head to The Oval on Friday after calmly overpowering New Zealand by 48 runs.
Sri Lanka, still unbeaten, will head back to London with some reluctance; they have enjoyed Trent Bridge. The pitches have been dry and slow and, as the matches on them have totted up, might have been designed for Mendis. His two wickets in the ninth over — Ross Taylor, still hampered by hamstring trouble, stumped and Scott Styris misreading a straight one — loaded the match heavily in Sri Lanka's favor.
Mendis finished with three for nine, and his 10 wickets in this tournament are exceeded only by his teammate,Lasith Malinga, and the Pakistan pair of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal. New Zealand's captain, Daniel Vettori, had admitted before the match that Mendis was an unknown quantity, and that they were heavily reliant upon advice from Brendon McCullum, who had played IPL alongside him at Kolkata Knight Riders. It takes more than a chat and a video or two to understand Mendis's wiles.
"Unfortunately that is what a quality bowler can do," said Vettori. "I think the surface was perfect for Sri Lanka's spinners but you still have to bowl it. I don't think Mendis is a mystery bowler. A lot of guys picked Mendis today but he still bowled so well, and got turn, that it was difficult to play him."
The Black Caps would have stolen Sri Lanka's semi-final place had they won, but they finished heavily beaten and have only beaten two associate nations, Scotland and Ireland in the competition. "Against the top nations our highest score was 120 and that just isn't good enough," Vettori said. New Zealand did give Sri Lanka a scare, but it was a fleeting one, Sanath Jayasuriya's first over — the second over of the innings — disappearing for 20 with Aaron Redmond taking 4-4-4-6 off successive balls. But Redmond was silenced by a wonderful over from Malinga, shaken by a searing bouncer and then unhinged by a slower ball.
Jayasuriya, the oldest man in the tournament, had the sort of day to age him. He also made a first-ball duck, sweeping Nathan McCullum, elder brother of Brendon, high to short fine leg. Although Tillakaratne Dilshan 48 from 37 balls, his timing was often awry. He was out driving Vettori to short extra where Brendon McCullum and an ample supply of painkillers made light of a broken finger and torn ligament in his left hand.
At 87 for three from 11.2 overs, and a lower order that had yet to prove its mettle, much onus rested with Mahela Jayawardene. His most notable innovation was a back-of-the-bat reverse sweep, a simple stroke which involves no change of feet or hands, just a willingness to flip the ball deliberately off its angled surface.
Against the medium pace of Mills, there was enough pace on the ball to limit the risk off the ball simply popping up in the air, but try it against a spinner (as hundreds of club cricketers probably will this weekend) and there are high odds that it will prove terminal.
"It's something I've been trying for a while. I tried to reverse with the normal side of the bat but sometimes it's a bit too quick for me and I get top edges. A lot of guys bring up third man up for the pace bowlers so I have nothing to lose."
Jayawardene revealed that he had learned it off the former Sri Lanka coach John Dyson, an obdurate opener who resorted to it in desperation. Dyson now coaches the West Indies — Sri Lanka's likely semi-final opponents. has invented the shot; now he has to find an antidote.
It was Mendis, an off-spinner as individualistic in his own way as the incomparable Murali, who ensured Sri Lanka's unflustered passage to the World Twenty20 semi-finals. They head to The Oval on Friday after calmly overpowering New Zealand by 48 runs.
Sri Lanka, still unbeaten, will head back to London with some reluctance; they have enjoyed Trent Bridge. The pitches have been dry and slow and, as the matches on them have totted up, might have been designed for Mendis. His two wickets in the ninth over — Ross Taylor, still hampered by hamstring trouble, stumped and Scott Styris misreading a straight one — loaded the match heavily in Sri Lanka's favor.
Mendis finished with three for nine, and his 10 wickets in this tournament are exceeded only by his teammate,Lasith Malinga, and the Pakistan pair of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal. New Zealand's captain, Daniel Vettori, had admitted before the match that Mendis was an unknown quantity, and that they were heavily reliant upon advice from Brendon McCullum, who had played IPL alongside him at Kolkata Knight Riders. It takes more than a chat and a video or two to understand Mendis's wiles.
"Unfortunately that is what a quality bowler can do," said Vettori. "I think the surface was perfect for Sri Lanka's spinners but you still have to bowl it. I don't think Mendis is a mystery bowler. A lot of guys picked Mendis today but he still bowled so well, and got turn, that it was difficult to play him."
The Black Caps would have stolen Sri Lanka's semi-final place had they won, but they finished heavily beaten and have only beaten two associate nations, Scotland and Ireland in the competition. "Against the top nations our highest score was 120 and that just isn't good enough," Vettori said. New Zealand did give Sri Lanka a scare, but it was a fleeting one, Sanath Jayasuriya's first over — the second over of the innings — disappearing for 20 with Aaron Redmond taking 4-4-4-6 off successive balls. But Redmond was silenced by a wonderful over from Malinga, shaken by a searing bouncer and then unhinged by a slower ball.
Jayasuriya, the oldest man in the tournament, had the sort of day to age him. He also made a first-ball duck, sweeping Nathan McCullum, elder brother of Brendon, high to short fine leg. Although Tillakaratne Dilshan 48 from 37 balls, his timing was often awry. He was out driving Vettori to short extra where Brendon McCullum and an ample supply of painkillers made light of a broken finger and torn ligament in his left hand.
At 87 for three from 11.2 overs, and a lower order that had yet to prove its mettle, much onus rested with Mahela Jayawardene. His most notable innovation was a back-of-the-bat reverse sweep, a simple stroke which involves no change of feet or hands, just a willingness to flip the ball deliberately off its angled surface.
Against the medium pace of Mills, there was enough pace on the ball to limit the risk off the ball simply popping up in the air, but try it against a spinner (as hundreds of club cricketers probably will this weekend) and there are high odds that it will prove terminal.
"It's something I've been trying for a while. I tried to reverse with the normal side of the bat but sometimes it's a bit too quick for me and I get top edges. A lot of guys bring up third man up for the pace bowlers so I have nothing to lose."
Jayawardene revealed that he had learned it off the former Sri Lanka coach John Dyson, an obdurate opener who resorted to it in desperation. Dyson now coaches the West Indies — Sri Lanka's likely semi-final opponents. has invented the shot; now he has to find an antidote.
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