'It feels like a series win' - Jayawardene
Sri Lanka's captain, Mahela Jayawardene, said that Sri Lanka's drawn series felt more like a win after the manner in which they surged to victory in the third Test at Trent Bridge, and he called on his young team to treat the result as a springboard for f
Andrew Miller at Trent Bridge
05-Jun-2006
|
|
Sri Lanka's captain, Mahela Jayawardene, said that Sri Lanka's drawn
series felt more like a win after the manner in which they surged to
victory in the third Test at Trent Bridge, and he called on his young
team to treat the result as a springboard for further success.
"The result is much sweeter because of the way we fought," said
Jayawardene. "Lord's was where we kept the series alive. We made a lot
of mistakes at Edgbaston, by not putting enough runs on the board, but
here we didn't let them loose in the first innings, we batted well in
second innings, and gave Murali a good score to bowl at. It was a
brilliant effort from the whole team.
"In a way, it feels like a win," he added. "We came here to compete
but were pushed back from the first Test onwards. But we've come back
in the series and the draw is great, so I'm pretty happy with the
guys. But let's not go overboard. We will enjoy the next couple of
days but we'll have the focus and be ready for the next series.
"It's just another brick in the wall," he added in an unexpected Pink
Floyd reference, although given all the selectorial meddling that has
overshadowed this series, he'd be entitled to sing the refrain: Leave
the kids alone. "We're not going to get over-confident with what we've
achieved," he added. "If we keep going in the right direction I'm sure
we can improve ourselves as a team.
Though Jayawardene had praise for all his players, he reserved special
mention for the man of the hour, Muralitharan, whose stunning figures
of 8 for 70 took his phenomenal tally to 635 Test wickets. "I've been
watching him for the last eight years, and he's a genius at work. He
knows exactly the areas to bowl in, but the best thing is his
consistency. He asks questions from the batsmen all the time."
"He's a different guy," Jayawardene continued. "He has enthusiasm and
hunger for cricket, and the way he's bowling he could walk up to the
crease and pick up wickets. Personally I feel very honoured to play
with him in the side. You can see his character, he is a very, very
nice guy, and I'm very proud to be part of his group."
As to Murali's long-term future, Sri Lanka are not due to tour again
for another four years, but Jayawardene did not rule out his return to
England in 2010. "It's all to do with what he wants to do," he
explained. "He's doing brilliantly and his motivation is great, but I
think we should enjoy him as he is right now."
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo