Cricket: Sri Lanka tour - player profiles

Sri Lanka arrive in New Zealand today with a swag of players who can pull off one-day wonders. At the same time a mainstay of the Black Caps misses selection.

Sanath Jayasuriya

Age: 35
ODIs: 332
100s: 18
50s: 57

News of Jayasuriya's return to form will come as no comfort to New Zealand, against whom his incandescent striking power has so often been unleashed.

The world's most destructive opening batsman fell on lean times after last year's World Cup before recovering his poise with back-to-back centuries in July and useful scores in the Paktel Cup series in Pakistan.

A pocket-battleship of an opener, Jayasuriya rates alongside Australia's Adam Gilchrist in terms of batting volatility, and still holds the world record for the fastest 50 in an ODI, requiring just 17 balls to reach the milestone against Pakistan in 1996.

In fact, so explosive was his attack on that occasion that he was on 66 and the total was 70 when his opening partner, Romesh Kaluwitharana, fell for a duck.

Jayasuriya's most recent contribution to the New Zealand-Sri Lankan rivalry came last year at Bloemfontein when he took advantage of a blunder from umpire Neil Mallender, and an earlier one from skipper Stephen Fleming, to blast a match-winning century in the first round of the World Cup.

Jayasuriya had caused New Zealand plenty of problems before then, scoring his maiden ODI century (a small matter of 140 off 143 balls) against Ken Rutherford's side in 1994, 103 in the third match of the 2000-01 series, and a 107 in an ARY Cup showdown at Sharjah.

And just to round off the package, the former Sri Lankan skipper is also a wily and crafty left-arm spinner, having taken a staggering 267 ODI wickets, including four five-wicket bags and being one of the few bowlers to have snared six in an innings.

Chaminda Vaas

Age: 30
ODIs: 248
Wkts: 321
Best bowling: 8/19

Easily one of the most enduring of the world's genuine pacemen, Vaas holds the world record for the best innings bowling analysis in ODI cricket, courtesy of his efforts against Zimbabwe three years ago at Colombo.

The main player in a farce that lasted a total of barely 20 overs, the busy left-armer took a scarcely believable eight for 19 (including a hat-trick) as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 38. And that was well before the African team began their latest decline.

Going by the full name of Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, he has taken 321 career wickets, at present bettered only by countryman Muttiah Muralitharan (366) and the Pakistan fast-bowling pair of Waqar Younis (416) and Wasim Akram (502).

At 30 and with nearly 250 ODIs under his belt, the former Hampshire representative shapes up as a constant threat for the New Zealand top-order, particularly if the local ground authorities produce anything that might favour the seamers.

Vaas has played only a handful of ODIs in New Zealand but already boasts a better track-record here than he does overall, having taken 10 wickets in six matches at an average of 21.40, and at an economy rate of 4.08. 

Nuwan Zoysa 

Age: 26
ODIs: 88
Wkts: 103
Best bowling: 5/26

Like his batting counterpart Sanath Jayasuriya, Zoysa is the sort of the player who, on his day, can rain destruction and devastation on an opposition camp, as the South Africans found out this year.

The junior partner in a potent left-arm opening bowling combination, Zoysa has the ability to move the ball both ways, and the height to make the most out of all pitch surfaces, whether they are of true or inconsistent bounce.

Frequently troubled by injury, the tall paceman made the latest of several comebacks in February and celebrated a full return to form in August, when his figures of five for 26 helped to crush South Africa at Colombo.

Zoysa has played only a dozen ODIs in New Zealand but has already made an impact, taking 17 wickets at a mere 21.76 and proving particularly troublesome in the 2001 series, when he took four for 28 at Wellington and backed that up with three for 27 at Hamilton.

He has earned a reputation for swinging the ball like a Bruce Reid or an Alan Mullally, but has expanded his bag of tricks over the years, adding a variety of slower balls and cutters calculated to cause more doubt for the batsmen.

But unlike Reid or Mullally, Zoysa can hold a bat, something he demonstrated emphatically in February while smashing a match-winning and unbeaten 47 to lead Sri Lanka to a three-wicket win against Australia. 

Kumar Sangakkara 


Age: 27
ODIs: 122
Average: 33.81
100s: 3

The young wicket-keeper who made his name for the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Sri Lanka is anything but nondescript, and is set to play another critical role for his side in the upcoming five-match series against New Zealand.

For so long the apprentice, and then rival, to established Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana, Sangakkara was relieved of the gloves last season in a move that reduced some of the burden he was carrying, but left the side terminally unbalanced.

Back now as the team's wicket-keeper batsman, the left-hander has been asked to bat at No 3 on the upcoming tour, where his appetite for a longer innings can be satisfied and where his natural aggression could be well served by the fielding restrictions.

Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu said this week that his side had complete faith in Sangakkara and his ability to shine against New Zealand at the top of the order.

"The selectors were looking for a wicketkeeper who could contribute with the bat and we all believe that Sanga is a good keeper and, more importantly, he feels that he can do both the jobs," said Atapattu.

"He is fit enough to do that because he is one of the fittest members in the Sri Lankan squad, and handing over the gloves to him doesn't make any difference.

"Anyone should be able to contribute with the bat. We cannot have purely a keeper at No 7. It doesn't happen in world cricket today."