Innocuous at the most
exhilarating of times and reserved in his celebrations, Thilan Samaraweera is the
epitome of what one would call a quiet achiever. Never one to display excessive emotions,
Samaraweera never craved popularity and after retirement, neither dabbled in
Cricket administration or even politics.
Samaraweera began his career as a
bowling all-rounder and later blossomed into a prolific batsman. His solid
defense coupled with the ability to, pick the line and length of a delivery,
earlier than most batsmen, meant that he was able to prolong his occupation at
the wicket.
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| The best of Thilan |
After making his debut as a bowling
all-rounder, Samaraweera scored a Test century in his very first match. However,
the presence of Muttiah Muralitharan meant, the Samaraweera’s chances to bowl
his mild off-spinners were limited. As time progressed, Samaraweera gave up on
his bowling and only concentrated on his batting, despite having over 350
first-class wickets. After some shocking selection decisions, which left
Samaraweera out of the team, even when he had an average in excess of 80, he
managed to gradually work his way up the batting order.
The incident in Pakistan where
terrorists attacked the bus carrying the Sri Lankan team resulted in Samaraweera
getting shot in the leg. The recovery period was long and arduous yet,
Samaraweera managed to once again find a place in the team due to sheer
determination.
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| Recovery was slow and painful |
Where most Cricketers would have
given up hope in the face of such incredible odds, Samaraweera only went from
strength to strength. Instead of his dogged style of play, Samaraweera opened
up and began scoring at a higher tempo. Probably his greatest achievement was,
scoring a test century in South Africa and helping the team to their first ever
test win on South African soil.
After 81 tests, Samaraweera decided
to end his career more to do with the lack of regular Cricket than to a loss of
form. On retirement, Samaraweera had achieved a Test batting average in excess
of 48. Limited opportunities in the one day arena resulted in a loss more for
the team, which badly needed a solid middle order batsman after the exit of
Ranatunga and de Silva.
For Samaraweera, nothing was ever
handed on a plate. It was hard work and immense dedication that saw him rise as
one of the top batters in the world.
