Mendis for county ?

The scrap is on.

There are rumours that the English counties are targeting our young spin maestro Ajantha 'Splendid' Mendis. Its not often that young Sri Lankans are spotted by the counties. The most notable players in the English domestic game have always been the big names from the island.

Sanath

Murali

Sangakkara

Aravinda.

Them be some really big names.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Splendid Mendis, (doesn't it just roll off the tongue). Its also a sign of just how big an impact he has made in the world game in his very short career.

I have always felt that Mendis needs to develop stock ball.

Warne had his leggie.

Murali has his big spinning offie.

Mendis bowls about 6 or 7 different variations in an over. But in the long run what's going to bag you most of your wickets is your stock ball. Even if it does not directly get you the wicket, the stock ball will ensure your variations are that much more dangerous. The county game, depending on how long he gets to play, will offer him a great chance to do just this.

But where will he go ?

Most Likely
The most likely scenario is that Mendis will go to Lancashire because of the Murali tie -in.

I'm sure Murali will have plenty of nice things to say about the county. Including yarns about every ones favourite man- Freddy.

My Pick
Personally Id like to see him move to Sussex. I quite like the idea of Mendis trying to fill the 1800+ wickets hole that Mushy has left there. Sussex do have Ollie Rayner to who has been under the astute apprenticeship of the bearded one. So it will be interesting to see what approach they take.

Wild Card
Durham - who might want to mix things up next year as their attack is pace heavy. With Paul Wiseman reaching a 153 years of age next year and proving to be highly ineffective with 16 wickets to his name, Mendis might slot in well for the reining Division 1 Champions.


Verdict

What ever county he goes to, its a guaranteed investment.

Considering how the Englishmen went against Murali during his stint, Mendis will eat the English men alive and spit them out for good measure.


by Damith S


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Mendis more dangerous than Murali - Utseya

Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya speaking to media on the eve of their five-match one-day series believes that Mendis is more a threat than Murali.

"We were lucky to play Mendis in a four-day game and we have an idea of what to expect from him," Utseya told reporters on Wednesday.

"Murali didn't play in that warm-up game, but I don't think he's as effective as Mendis. But basically it's all about us reacting to whatever they dish out."

Early this week Zimbabwe-A skittled out Sri Lanka for a paltry 235 in 48 overs. Contributions from Jehan Mubarak(88*) and Upul Tharanga(71) saved the Lankans from total embarrassment.

By Hilal Suhaib

For Sri Lanka Cricket news, videos, blog posts, and more visit: http://www.islandcricket.lk/ +/- Expand Post

[Video] Mendis Magic takes the cricket world by storm

courtesy CricketCrowd

Posted by Hilal


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[Video] Ajantha Mendis | This is Cricket

Download Link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/157294498/Ajantha_Mendis_This_is_Cricket.divx

Click here for alternate version.


by Hilal


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[Video] T20 Canada 2008 - final - Sri Lanka V Pakistan

1st Session



2nd Session


Presentation Ceremony


T20I no. 76
T20 Canada - final
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
2008/09 season
Played at Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City
(neutral venue), on 13 October 2008 (20-over match)
Result Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

by Hilal


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[Video] Mendis Magic in Canada 2008

Mendis is now the highest wicket taker in the ongoing Al Barakah Canada 20/20 Cricket Series.

Most wickets

T20 Canada, 2008/09

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
BAW Mendis (SL)	2	8.0	1	32	8	4/15	4.00	4.00	6.0	2	0
Umar Gul (Pak)	3	11.0	0	39	6	4/13	6.50	3.54	11.0	1	0
HS Baidwan (Can)	3	11.0	0	86	6	3/15	14.33	7.81	11.0	0	0
Fawad Alam (Pak)	2	4.0	0	20	4	3/7	5.00	5.00	6.0	0	0
MF Maharoof (SL)	2	8.0	0	41	4	2/18	10.25	5.12	12.0	0	0

By Hilal


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[Video] T20 Canada - 1st match Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe

Scorecard

T20I no. 69
T20 Canada - 1st match
Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
2008/09 season
Played at Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City
(neutral venue), on 10 October 2008 (20-over match)
Result Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)













Courtesy Apni Community


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Ajantha's 'Carrom Ball' may find a place in the Collins dictionary

Sri Lanka's 23-year-old right arm off-break and leg-break spin bowler Ajantha Mendis' Carrom Ball delivery which has mesmerised the batsmen may find a place in the English dictionary, writes Bipin Dani for CricketNext.

"While I cannot say without further research in our databases if the word (Carrom Ball) has attained sufficient frequency in the language to merit a place in the actual A-Z text, a look at the frequency in Google alone seems to indicate that the word has already achieved some currency, so the chances are quite good. It now remains to be seen whether it has longevity as well as originality," - Says Cormac McKeown, the Senior Editor of Collins Dictionary.

Posted by Hilal


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[Video] The Googly | Ajantha Mendis Vs Avishka Gunawardene 2007

Action from the 2007 SLT inter-provincial tournament.


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[Video] Ajantha Mendis 4/10 Vs India, 5th ODI 2008

There were numerous reports from the Indian press claiming the Indian batsman had unraveled the mystery of Mendis.

This video features action from the 5Th and final ODI from the IDEA Cup series. This was Yuvraj Singh's chance to prove that Mendis was not on top of him, to prove that Dhoni and Raina's cautious batting at the top didnt just mean caution but a total dominance of Mendis, it was not to be. Mendi's castled Yuvraj off his first ball and has claimed Yuvraj's wicket 4 times in all!

By Hilal

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Mendis keeps things simple

He has easily been his country’s biggest revelation since Muttiah Muralitharan. But despite the impact 23-year-old Ajantha Mendis has had on the cricketing world in recent months, the young Sri Lankan spinner insisted life is as simple as it was before his arrival on the international stage, writes Rohan Alvares of the Dubai publication the Express.

"Nothing has changed. I’m still the same person and I want to continue to be who I was before," said Mendis.

Posted by Hilal


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[Video] ICC Awards 2008

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Posted by Hilal
Courtesy Apni Community


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Ajantha Mendis is ICC emerging player of the year 2008

by Hilal

Ajantha Mendis won the ICC emerging player of the year award. An amazing feat for a man who made his debut into international cricket exactly five months to the day.

Mendis and his unique art of spin bowling has bagged 26 wickets at an average of an astonishing 18.38 apiece in just three Tests. Mendis has also bagged 33 ODI wickets in just 13 matches at an average of 10.81.

"I am delighted to win the award."

"It is an honour to play for Sri Lanka and I hope to continue playing for my country for a long time to come," said Mendis speaking to the press at the ceremony.

The other nominees for the award were Stuart Broad of England, Morne Morkel from South Africa and India's Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene accepted the Spirit of Cricket award on behalf of team Sri Lanka for the second year running. The spirit of Cricket award is awarded to the team who has best conducted it's self on the field according to the ICC elite panels of umpires and match referees.

[Video] ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Sri Lanka | 2007

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[Video] The Googly | Ajantha Mendis Vs Sachin Tendulkar 2008

By Hilal

"It will be dream come true for me to get the wicket of Tendulkar, especially when he is on the threshold of surpassing Brian Lara's world record of highest Test runs," - Ajantha Mendis.

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[Video] "Mendis is something special" - Murali

By Hilal



Tony Greig interviewed Muttiah Muralitharan for Ten sports during the recently concluded test series between India and Sri Lanka.

TG: Nothing has changed you got a smile on your face and now a bigger smile, you have someone at the other end bowling wonderfully well in Mendis, what a partner to have?

MM: Yeah definitely because I was lacking partners as a spinner, Vaas was helping for a long time but Mendis is something special. He has his mystery balls and people can't read him - so he gets a lot of wickets. It helps me and makes my job easier. I don't have to bowl forty or fifty overs, I can now bowl twenty three overs he can bowl thirty and get wickets. It will push my career on a little bit longer.

TG: The Indian batsman have struggled and you mentioned the mystery associated with Mendis - when the likes of Tendulkar and Ganguly get over the problem associated with the mystery aspect will he still be a good bowler?

Watch the video for Murali's response..


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Don’t worry; I won’t lose my head - Ajantha Mendis

"Talented batsmen learn quickly and correct their mistakes. I too should improve and find ways to beat them." - Mendis


Ranjan Paranavithana of Lakbima recently caught up with Ajantha Mendis.

In his interview he questions Mendis' mentality with this sudden rise to fame, the challenges he faced bowling to Dhoni & Company and his failures with the bat.

LN: What do you think about your journey in international cricket so far?

AM: I’m really happy. I didn’t expect it to be so successful. But I should say this; I’ve a long way to go.

LN: Players like MS Dhoni seems to have come to grips with your bowling. Don’t you agree?

AM: It should be like that. Talented batsmen learn quickly and correct their mistakes. I too should improve and find ways to beat them. But you can’t say that the Indian batsmen were their usual selves. They were very cautious.

LN: Some say you climbed up so quickly and that can spoil you. What do you think?

AM: I like to make this request to all including the media: please don’t expect too much from me. It can put me under immense pressure. I’m still new to this field. Don’t worry. I know how to use my head. I don’t run after money. My first place is for cricket. I’ll get everything if only I play well.

LN: Is it true that some English counties showed interest in you?

AM: Yes, Sussex, Surrey and Kent were interested in me. But I thought I should spend that month or so here and rest. A also need to work on my fitness.

LN: You have been short-listed for the emerging player’s award at the forthcoming ICC awards ceremony. How do you feel?

AM: I’ll be really happy if such an award come my way so soon.

LN: We know that you are a good batsman when it comes to inter-club tournaments. But you have failed to do much in international matches?

AM: Yes. I’ve failed with the bat. Ten or fifteen runs with the bat may come handy for your team. I’m working on my batting right now.

Posted by Hilal


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The most feared Sri lankan bowler

Posted by Hilal

It is not everyday that Sri Lankan Cricket gets a mention in the Cayman Island press but Mystery Spinner AJantha Mendis seems to have the whole world talking.

In a column titled 'On The Cricket Pitch' Phillip Hackett discusses the magic of Mendis. Click here to read it in full.

While the 23-year-old Mendis is yet to stand the Test of time, the manner in which he has taken the cricket world by storm is nothing short of amazing. Playing alongside the great Muralitharan he has made the veteran off spinner almost seem ordinary by comparison.

The pair combined for 28 wickets in the Asia Cup recently, 17 of them to Mendis. His strike rate (balls per wicket) at 14.8 was almost twice as impressive as Murali’s 26.1.

It was Mendis who bowled the Sri Lankans to victory in the final against India [video], with figures of six for 13 off eight overs. If his performance in ODIs didn’t provide enough evidence of his class, he went on to torment India in the three Test series with a record-breaking 26 wickets.

Muralitharan bowled five overs fewer and the bowling partners produced almost identical economy rates (Mendis 2.92, Murali 2.90) but Mendis was comfortably ahead in strike rate (37.6 to Murali’s 45.9) and bowling average (18.38 to Murali’s 22.23).

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[Video] 'We don't need to hide Mendis' - Mahela Jayawardena

Posted by Hilal

Himanshu Singhal spoke to Mahela Jayawardena recently for CNN-IBN. The video of the interview is located in two parts - part 1 can be found here & part 2 of the interview here.

CricketNext features the transcript of the interview in an article titled 'We don't need to hide Mendis' below is a few excerpts.

Himanshu Singhal: Ajantha Mendis is a huge discovery for the Sri Lankan team. What are the things that you will keep in mind as a captain when you handle Mendis, especially about over-exposure.

Mahela Jayawardne: Nothing like that. What you need to realise is that Murali has been there for us more than 15 years and we haven't tried to control Murali. We have just managed Murali and that's about it.

And the same will be done with Mendis depending on the number of overs he bowls. He is still young and we will just like to carry him through injury free.

When it comes to exposure, we are really not thinking about it. He has got his opportunity and we will play each and every game, touch wood, unless he is injured. There is nothing to hide.

He will be a good challenge for the opposition and it will be a good challenge for Mendis as well. It's just the start for him. He can improve and learn from each and every game he plays. It's great he has so many variations and by each time, he will get to learn how to use those variations.

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Ajantha Mendis nominated for ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2008

Posted by Hilal

Ajantha has been nominated for the Emerging Player of the Year award in the 2008 LG ICC Awards.

Click here for more info.


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Ajantha Mendis tops the wicket takers list for 2008

by Hilal

Ajantha Mendis is now the leading wicket taker for 2008. In 13 matches Mendis has amassed a haul of 33 Wickets at a mind boggling average of 10.81 and a strike rate of 18 - Mendis strikes once every 18 deliveries!

Most wickets

2008 - One-Day Internationals

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR
BAW Mendis (SL)	13	99.3	12	357	33	6/13	10.81	3.58	18.0
NW Bracken (Aus)	16*	124.4	8	505	29	5/47	17.41	4.05	25.7
KMDN Kulasekara (SL)	17	130.2	13	608	27	4/40	22.51	4.66	28.9
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	16	153.1	2	713	27	3/19	26.40	4.65	34.0
Sohail Tanvir (Pak)	16	134.4	9	658	25	5/48	26.32	4.88	32.3
M Muralitharan (SL)	17	159.0	3	709	24	5/31	29.54	4.45	39.7
SCJ Broad (Eng)	14	114.0	14	500	23	5/23	21.73	4.38	29.7
B Lee (Aus)	13	115.4	8	560	23	5/27	24.34	4.84	30.1
I Sharma (India)	16	128.1	4	657	22	4/38	29.86	5.12	34.9
Abdur Razzak (Ban)	19*	156.4	2	768	22	3/20	34.90	4.90	42.7
P Kumar (India)	14	122.3	12	592	21	4/31	28.19	4.83	35.0
IK Pathan (India)	19	145.2	3	845	21	4/41	40.23	5.81	41.5

Mendis has dismissed Yuvraj Singh 4 times of which he bowled him 3 times. The following list outlines Mendis' 33 scalps in more detail.

Most ODI wickets in a calendar year is 69 wickets in 36 matches held by Saqlain Mustaq in the 1997 season.

Records includes the following current or recent matches:
Australia v Bangladesh at Darwin, 1st ODI, Aug 30, 2008
England v South Africa at The Oval, 3rd ODI, Aug 29, 2008 [ODI # 2757]
Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), 5th ODI, Aug 29, 2008 [ODI # 2756]

Stats courtesy StatsGuru
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