Many cricketers on the sub-continent are given interesting names and one young Sri Lankan bowler is Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis. Known as Ajantha Mendis to the cricket world, the mystery spinner is playing in a team which also includes the world’s most successful bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan. And whilst the men are poles apart in terms of Tests played, the young Mendis already has a record. He is the first Sri Lankan bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 8 wickets on debut.
There is a confectionery known as M and M and this name may well refer to Sri Lanka’s new spin duo, young in their partnership, but already highly successful. In the first of three Tests against India in Sri Lanka in July 2008, the spinners between them took 19 of the 20 Indian wickets for the match. And although India turned the tables on the locals in the following Test, the spin twins took 15 of India’s 20 wickets with the inexperienced Mendis claiming 10. With a start like that, Muralitharan might wonder if a countryman of his could overtake his outstanding record in ten or so years.
Apart from the variety of his deliveries, one important aspect of the bowling of Mendis is his accuracy and thus his ability to play in Test Cricket as well as the limited over format of the game. In the 2008 final of the Asia Cup, Mendis claimed 6 for 13, a remarkable effort in a game where batsmen are always on the attack.
Mendis is responsible for a new type of delivery called the Carrom ball or flicker where the ball is flicked from the fingers. That delivery is just one of the many this hugely talented mystery bowler has in his armory. One commentator watching the young Sri Lankan said that Mendis is the future of spin bowling. Watch out Murali, your partner at the other end is on your tail.
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