There are some players you dont notice that much, yet they are so good. Mahela Jayawardene is one of them. I knew he was good player but for the first time when i looked at his stats today i was really surprised on how good he was. He now has 21 test centuries and averages almost 52. Why is he so underrated? people never discuss about him.
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Mahela Jayawardene very underrated.
- Thread starter deira
- Start date
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Every time someone scores a century, there is a thread about them being underrated. Everyone, by definition, can't be underrated. Jayawardene has been rated just where he should be - a very fine Test batsman.
Migara
International Coach
Problem is he averages around 36 out side sub continent and around 60 in the sub continent. Unless he get's his away average above 45 he would not be a legend.
Mahela infact was one of the brightest prospects in a group of special young people. His collegues then were Pollock, Klusener, Kallis etc. I can still remeber the under 24 series of SAF vs SL when all these players locked horns against each other, a thriller.
His shot selection was deserting him, still he tries that one too many stroke and gets out. But he's matuaring and his performance are improving. At last we are getting our replacements for Aravinda and Arjuna (better with batting, but not the same class when coming to handling pressure).
Any way congrads for him being SL's leading century hitter.
Mahela infact was one of the brightest prospects in a group of special young people. His collegues then were Pollock, Klusener, Kallis etc. I can still remeber the under 24 series of SAF vs SL when all these players locked horns against each other, a thriller.
His shot selection was deserting him, still he tries that one too many stroke and gets out. But he's matuaring and his performance are improving. At last we are getting our replacements for Aravinda and Arjuna (better with batting, but not the same class when coming to handling pressure).
Any way congrads for him being SL's leading century hitter.
haroon510
International 12th Man
what impress me about Mahela is his sense of sportmanship, his charactor and his in field personality. he is one of those charactors who seems to have a good personality. that is what makes me not miss him when he is playing.. as far as his bating goes.. it always surprise me that guys like kallis, dravid gets to much attention while players like mahela isn't rated even close to them.. i rate mahela higher over both dravid and kallis.. simply because he is entertaining...
Mr Mxyzptlk
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Too streaky still, if less so than before. Getting better fast and still young (just into his prime age-wise). Not under-rated IMO. Very good Test batsman. Not a great Test batsman. Unless the consideration is merely batting on the subcontinent.
garypleavin
Cricket Spectator
I'm not really sure if you can call him underrated because many people believe that he is a very good test batsman. One look at the stats will always tell you that, but his record all over the world doesn't match up at all to his home average. That is the sole reason why many don't rate him with the likes of Ponting, Kallis, Sangakkara, Tendulkar, Dravid and Lara.
sledger
Spanish_Vicente
yes concurred, very nicely summed up.
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ohtani's jacket
State Vice-Captain
de Silva's away record didn't match up to his home record either. Both fine batsmen. There's too much emphasis placed on away records and the like, as though any blemish on a batsman's record discludes him from being great. Not every batsman can be expected to have a great record away from home, it's just unrealistic. A batsman's only responsibility is to do the best he can in each innings, and as best I can tell, Jayawardene's been doing a fine job of that recently.
Anyway, Jayawardene belongs to a new generation of batsmen. It's hard to tell right now which of them will be greats once their careers are finished.
Anyway, Jayawardene belongs to a new generation of batsmen. It's hard to tell right now which of them will be greats once their careers are finished.
.
Craig
World Traveller
TheLad
School Boy/Girl Captain
There is plenty of respect for him but there is also a little criticism. There are times when he gets in control of his innings he just does not push up his scoring rate enough. The last test of this series is a great example.
He is good but I wish he would do a little more of when in total control of his innings he would punish the bowlers more and go for the jugular.
He is good but I wish he would do a little more of when in total control of his innings he would punish the bowlers more and go for the jugular.
Mr Mxyzptlk
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Yet the great batsmen do.
ohtani's jacket
State Vice-Captain
That's no reason to use it as a standard for greatness.
Maybe it's because I come from a country that doesn't have a great history of Test cricket, but relative to Sri Lankan cricket and what they've achieved since they were given Test status, I think Jayawardene is a great Sri Lanka batsman. Whether he goes on to be considered a great Test batsman, time will tell. I don't think his away record should have anything to do with that, but cricket is taken altogether too seriously by the majority of cricket fans, so I won't be surprised if it plays a part.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
But he is already considered to be a very fine Test batsman, as others have suggested. For him to make the leap to the next level, he has to succeed away from home. Thats one of the major criteria for great batsman and bowlers: being able to thrive in unfamiliar conditions all over the world.
ohtani's jacket
State Vice-Captain
Well, I don't agree with that criteria. It's a standard that only applies to cricket players. Nobody judges a NBA player on how he averages against every team in the league, or a tennis player on whether they can win on every surface & those are sports with individual averages and statistics.
Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
His ton in Australia, particularly when most were failing around him, was a very encouraging sign of his away record improving. Still needs to do far better to be a great test batsman.
But he is definitely a very very good test batsman, and most definitely a good batsman to watch.
But he is definitely a very very good test batsman, and most definitely a good batsman to watch.
I agree he is underrated. Sure, when people talk Sri Lankan cricket, his name is right behind Sangakkara – but when people talk about the world class batsmen of the world, Mahela is generally an after thought.
Jayawardene has already secured his place in Sri Lankan cricket but to be great he has to do more. He especially needs to atone for his years of taking an ill-conceived Marlon Samuels impersonation on tour. But if he keeps going the way he has, particularly over the last couple of years, he is well on his way.
Jayawardene has already secured his place in Sri Lankan cricket but to be great he has to do more. He especially needs to atone for his years of taking an ill-conceived Marlon Samuels impersonation on tour. But if he keeps going the way he has, particularly over the last couple of years, he is well on his way.
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Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
Of course it is.
Fact is, you want your great batsman performing when they leave the country. How can a batsman be great if they don't make runs on tours such as South Africa, Australia etc?
Note this is in general, not specifically at Mahela.
This is why Dravid, Ponting, Tendulkar, S Waugh, Lara etc. are held in such high esteem. They've scored runs everywhere, home and away. Everyone has the odd blot or two on their record, but in general to be great you're expected to have a good record at home and away.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Haha, that's such nonsense really.
Aravinda was pretty poor home and away until 1991 (only places he did well was Australia, where he averaged 65, and Pakistan, where he averaged 50).
After this, he played just a single series in Australia, a single series in Zimbabwe, a single series (of 2 matches, in which he averaged 40) in West Indies, and a single series (of 2 matches, in which he averaged 39) in South Africa.
Meanwhile, he averaged 52 in England and 46 in New Zealand, though admittedly he had 1 brilliant tour and 2 poor ones.
The one disappointment on Aravinda's record is his performance in the rest of the subcontinent in that time, averaging just 34. Had he done better in India and Pakistan, his record would have few taints on it.