Sanath Jayasuriya

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Lore & Background

Jayasuriya was born in Matara, Sri Lanka, to Dunstan and Breeda Jayasuriya. He has an elder brother, Chandana. He was educated at St. Servatius' College, Matara, where his cricketing talents were nourished by his school principal G.L. Galappathy and cricket coach Lionel Wagasinghe. He captained the college cricket team in 1988 and was named Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in the Outstation Segment that year. He represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 1988 and later made two unbeaten double centuries in his debut first class series. He made his ODI debut against Australia on Boxing Day 1989 and his Test debut against New Zealand in February 1991.

In Their Own Story

On Boxing Day 1989, Jayasuriya made his ODI debut against Australia in Melbourne, followed by a Test debut against New Zealand in Hamilton in February 1991. His international journey began earlier at St. Servatius' College, Matara, where he captained the team to victory in the 1988 St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Encounter and was named 'Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year.' He dominated first-class cricket early on, scoring two unbeaten double centuries with the Sri Lanka 'B' team in Pakistan before his national call-up. In Test cricket, he held the record for the highest score by a Sri Lankan (340 against India in 1997) and formed a then-world-record partnership of 576 runs with Roshan Mahanama. His Test career concluded in Kandy in 2007 after scoring 78 runs, a match where he famously hit six fours in one over against James Anderson.

Reader's Guide

Jayasuriya revolutionized ODI batting with aggressive tactics during the 1996 World Cup, taking advantage of early fielding restrictions. He is known for cuts, pulls, and his trademark lofted cut over point. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 1996 World Cup and Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997. He captained Sri Lanka from 1999 to 2003. He retired from Test cricket in December 2007 and from limited-overs cricket in June 2011. He was appointed chairman of the cricket selection committee on 28 January 2013. He ran for public office in the 2010 Sri Lankan general elections and was elected to parliament from Matara District, later serving as deputy minister of Postal services and then Deputy Minister of Local Government & Rural Development.

Did You Know?

• Jayasuriya is the only player to achieve the all-rounder double of scoring over 10,000 runs and capturing more than 300 wickets in a single format of international cricket.
• He held the record for the highest Test score by a Sri Lankan, 340 against India in 1997, part of a 576-run partnership with Roshan Mahanama.
• His best bowling figures in an ODI are 6 for 29 against England in 1993, which was the best by a Sri Lankan until Muttiah Muralitharan broke the record in 2000.
• Jayasuriya's best match figures in Test cricket are 9 for 74 against Zimbabwe in the 2001/2002 season.