Srilanka could not find the way

I did not watch him today but his figures are impressive for a person playing his first match. Hopefully Srilanaka has unearthed a talent to replace Murali. It's a huge shoes for him to fill but a few years of exposure to top level cricket will give him lot of experience and he can learn from it and by the time he is nearing thirties he can be spoken as a top bowler.

He is without a doubt the best thing to happen to Lankan spin bowling since Murali. At 23 and being a soldier he has endured much more in life than anything cricket has to offer thus making him an ideal exponent of the art of spin bowling, as you so correctly pointed out even after being hit for a big six he let the batsman have another flighted delivery. The wicket in POS was slow imagine how lethal he would be on a faster turning wicket?

I guess you missed out mentioning how Mendis troubled the in-form Sarwan.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I was amazed at this guy's bowling and i think given time and good health this guy will break some records. BTW what an amazing game that was to watch, I thought I was dreaming when chandi hit that last six!

Lets not get carried away, thank you very much.

he is still young, so give him room to breath, otherwise cricket and us will be the poorer

Rob, I share your enthusiasm. I too had heard of the precocios Ajantha Mendis but this was the first time I saw him in action. He did not disappoint. I was impressed with his variation which reminded me of Murali and his confidence and attacking spirit of Warnie. All Windies were at sea against him, includ. Sarwan who had toyed with Murali during the Test series. The ball that got Darren Sammy gave me goosebumps. I stayed up till 3am on a Colombo workday and it wasn't because the game was headed for a thrilling finish.

However, if Sri Lanka are to capitalize, we need to make two other changes. First, we need to induct Kaushal de Silva, a high potential 21-year-old to the top order. The excuse given by Chief selector de Mel that Kushal will not be considered until he proves to be a better wicket keeper than Prasanna J. does not hold water. Kaushal can play on his batting merits alone.

Thirdly, Mahela J. seems to be running out of excuses as captain. It may be time for change.

i feel vindicated you wont believe i did not even watch the Gayle dismissal cos by indian time it was 1 am in the morning so i had to hit the bed, but seeing him bowl his first over i realised he was special and may even be the next murali. thank you for vindicating :)

WOW, what a match! What an exciting future for Spin in Sri Lanka. Here comes a Ajantha Wizard Mendis. It was a great game of cricket and even though I am a Sri Lankan fan, I was absolutely satisfied and content with the loss. We lost the battle yesterday, but the war has only begun. Army brat Mendis, over to you......Cheers to the West Indies.

Put Mutthiah and Ajantha o two ends on a reasonable pitch with Mr Vaas and Lasith Malinga in the pack even team like India good on spinners may struggle

This guy seems to be an awesome prospect for Sri Lanka. He averages only 14 in domestic first class and only 11 in domestic One day matches..Surprising he has not even played for the SL A team and comes from a 2nd tier team Sri Lanka Army. Hope he becomes our next Murali or atleast closest to Murali! Good luck Ajantha

I was annoyed at SL for picking a lot of new faces for the WI ODI series (quickly felt vindicated when both openers fell cheaply), but this article on Mendis made me smile.

Finally Murali has a hunting partner. Hope SL can bounce back from this rather depressing defeat. Just a bit worried if Vaasy will be psychologically affected by that last ball six, happened to the Indian bowlers after Miandad.

good.super player.

I know its very early to say.. but i do agree with rob steen, and sri lanka has unearthed a replacement for murali.. for all those ppl who say dat sri lanka's future going when murali's gonna retire... but sri lanka 's future is in safe hands...

I saw him bowl last night on TV. He is something very special. Ramnaresh Sarwan, the MOS in the recently concluded Test series, was truly at sea against the youngster.

This is a fantastic development. The India vs SL series later in July is going to be fascinating.

I cannot agree with you better than this. For a youngster like Mendis at the age of 23, he posses all the weapons in the armor. I hope he build from strength to strength. It's up to the officials to take care of the talent and the coach's to make him a the new Murali of this generation.

Ajantha Mendis as we call this man, he is a relevation to the modern day cricker and for Sri Lanka with Murali fading Ajantha has just blossomed. pleas take care of this precious jewel of tomorrows cricketers as we are longing to see more of this man with Sri Lankan cricket Cheers / Kingsley

Mendis going to be a wonderful spinner for Sri Lanka. As of his first ODI, Mendis done a great job by making batsmen guess which side the ball going to turn. Players had hard time picking up his delivery. He picked up 3 for 39 against West Indies. Sri Lanka have something to cheer about their new spinner even though they still have Murali with them. I am pretty sure he can be a brilliant spinner for Sri Lanka. Maybe better then Murali.

Great to see a new spinner coming up in sri lanka and spin is our main weapon and hope he will get better and getter in the future. Love to see him bowling to gather with Murali in a test match.

Well, it looks like Murali is going to have to fight with this young man to retain his spot in the team...If we look at Murali's record in ODI's recently it isn't that impressive, so it is time for a change!!

there are lot of skillful youngsters in the domestic cricket level.but they didnt get any chance to play even "A" team.unfortunetly this is not agood sign for this small island.
cricket selecting board have not broad view ....if u want to know about more talented players search players that participte to 2007 hong kong six a side tournament(winners)
deeyamullac@yahoo.com

Mendis definately has a very bright future by looking at the way he bowled today. He has so much variety to become the next murali but have to see how he performs in the coming matches.

i think the next great spinner will be abdur razzaq or Enamul haq Jr from bangladesh or may be piyush chawla from india

The proof of his mastery was not his wickets, but more that he had SARWAN hopping, and he is WI's best batsman of spin since Lara. Sarwan was reading Murali like a book, but was made to look like a schoolchild reading War And Peace when Mendis was there. We are afraid, very afraid.

Durable world class spinners are not made primarily by an ability to confuse and bamboozle. That can sustain them for a couple of years, but then people will get used to them and they will need to develop other attributes. Only time will tell.

He is a fine bowler will see how he is perform during the tournement

Some of the other writers on Cricinfo are masters of the hyperbole and write with a forced flamboyance. I really like the way you write, Rob, with a carefree and natural elegance. So pleasant to read!

I couldn't agree more....I was watching this guy last night and I was thinking here comes another finger spinner who doesn't turn the ball much and has only variations in flight...But Ajantha is amazing from the way he troubled Sarwan (who has been playin Murali as if he was some under 19 bowler) to the way he was so bouncy on the field exhibiting the right positive attitude much like how Malinga burst onto the scene..Way to go Ajantha...Hope he keeps his focus on the cricket cos he can go really far, cos even murali didnt have so much variation when he started

yes. iagreed with your comment.

Ajantha Mendis bowling will be a wonder to the cricket world and in time will be one of the greatest spin bowlers in the new era. I watched him bowl with amazement and a smile at his innocence.

Why in the whole wide world do you have to bring the IPL in suddenly? It seems that you Englishmen are hypocrites of the first order - pioneering 20/20 cricket and then griping about the IPL!

Good that Sri Lankan selectors spotted him this early. I saw him bowling in the concluded Sri Lanka Inter Provincial tournament and for me he was the best bowler on show. He was able to bamboosle the best of the SL batsman and it is just reward in giving him the opportunity at international level. Now lets hope he gets continuity. Play him along side Murali both in tests and ODI's. I do not agree in Mahela's comments in saying we dont need another spinner when we have Murali. Play them both together. Play him as he is good enough and give him exposure.

All the best Ajantha.. Hope to see you around in the team for a long long time..

Ajantha of course proved his ability of bowling variety of deliverise in similar style.
good luck for his future

You journalists are unbelievable!!! He has played one game. Let's start comparing him to Murali already. No pressure. Jeez.

In the book 'The Bowlers Art' the author asked why a modern spinner didn't master the art of legspin and offspin, like many had done in the games past, will Mendis be the one who finally wakes everyone up and stops the insane coaching split between the 2 spinning methods?

The kid has all the variations and bowls a good line, varies his pace and keeps the batsmen gussing. We should see a lot more from this kid. The West Indies batsmen, however, were a bit timid, prodding forward like idiots, not the best players of spin bowling with the exception of Sarwan and Chanders, so this kid is yet to be tested against the better teams. But he has what it takes. I like his bowling.

Hi All,

This fellow is real talent I have never seen a off-spinner having this kind of grip. He is a contrast to murali but I personally feel tha srilanka has found a new star. But lets wait and see if he is able to do it a long run. A inform batsman and a better batsman of spin ramnaresh sarwan was not able to cope with the spin of this new guy mendis.
Indian board should take lessons from srilanka and try to develop the art of spin.

I agree with you Rob that Mendis indeed looked like a great prospect of the future of the game, especially after observing the way he played today, yet I do want to remind everyone that at the end of the day it was still his very first international game and we should give him time to shine in essentially his own pace. Because we do not want to dry up his talents quickly by the burden of all those over expectations and too many comparisons with other too big names too early (common the title of “The new Murali” may be an hour after he balled his last over today?)!
! It does tend to happen when people expect a new comer to fulfill a whiz’s shoes in a team but after all I don’t think Murali, Shane or Kumble would have come as far as they did had they were expected so much at the very beginning of their careers! So let him take a breather, get experienced, learned and take his time to find his way to top if he could, shall we?

Ajantha Mendis, yes I have seen him bowling in the Provincial Tournament at Colombo during my vacation back home from Oman. My first impression was that he should one day play for Sri Lanka and it has come true very soon. He has a long way to go provided our great selectors doesn't mess up things so that he may not get dumped into oblivion. As myself an off spinner during my school days I see in him a great prospect for future cricket in Sri Lanka after Murali.All the best Ajantha.

with one watch u cannot become a murali.all of the threating bowlers have done hardwork to reach a state.watch out for piyush,not impressive but teststhe patience of a player. becoming agreat or a threatening spin bowler is difficult.it is comendable to know that he had performed well in fast bowling pitch. we must also how they perfom in india and t20 willbe areal test for them. look out for monty as i think he is capable of runnig through a batting attack.even amit jaggernaut has the talent.best of luck mendis.

Although it's very early days, I must say I was quite impressed with the composure Medis bowled with and with the varitey he used. Looking forward to seeing him more in the future. Best of luck to you chap!

Wait until AM plays against Australia to hear them cry another CHUCKER!

Weldone Sri Lanka!Keep your feet grounded & heads steady, future is bright for you.

This man got far more talent than Murali. Because he is got more variations. Actually a quiet a lot than one would imagine. The way he kept sarwan under pressure was brilliant. but we'll have to wait and see how he progresses in this level.

its wery good for sri lanka that thae have got a new spinner but murali also want to play and braek wasim akrams record with taking 502 wikets

This is the first time I watched him play and I am very impressed.

A very bright prospect indeed. He should have played a few of the warm-up games which may have warranted his selection in the 2nd test ahead of Amarasinghe and Herat.

My only concern is that his variations of delivery have distinctive changes in the hand which can be deciphered by the batsman once he has been on the circuit a while. His confidence and body language was streets ahead of a debutant 23 year old.

An exiting player none the less. Good luck to him.

well we'll truly know once the australian's try to call him a chucker. then he would have earned his place in international cricket!!

What a show by great Srilankan army son...Keep it up and now we have new Murali....New Sanath and Vaas still in search....Good for world cricket.

Yes, Mendis possesses those ingredients that can make him the ruler in the world of spin-bowling. Now-a-days Murali is becoming a predictable bowler(ball pitching on the line of off-stump will spin as usual and those pitching on middle and leg will definitely be a 'doosra'), though he did take 5 wickets in an innings in the last series vs West Indies, but still that venom that he used to possess in mid 90s and warly years of this decade is now absent. Though it is very early days for Mendis, but definitely the potential is there and Srilanka is lucky to have Mendis in their disposal while Murali is in his mid 30s. So the bowling world is surely going to be a competitive one in the coming years with the likes of Dale Steyn, Md. Asif, Ishant Sharma , Ajantha Mendis.

I was intrigued by Ajantha Mendis' display. His calm and unassuming mannerism was a diversion from the venomous bite that his fingers were spinning (spitting) out.

I have only following the A team's scorecards on cricinfo and have seen some good figures that this lad has been spinning.

Yes, he was magical as Jimmy Adams described him. He is a breath of fresh air - the new kid on the block?

How on earth did Vaas manage to give away 13 in three balls when he had just given away only 17 in 9 overs? I feel for him. Would be having nightmares for weeks.

Philip Gnana, New Malden, Surrey.

hopefully he is not another murli....I mean a chucker or javilian thrower like murli

We are realy proud of Mendis, At the age 35 he could exceed 1200 test wickets and 600 onedayers. This is an another extraordinary production by Sri Lanka along with Muraly and Sanath. Loss by one wicket and last ball thriller of the game is great evidence for the anti doller games which we love always. We all enjoyed the game without any kind of blame of last two balls of Vass.(We love West Indies approach but it should be little bit agresive), but Because we have enough thrilled of Mendis debut who can fill the gap more strongly of Muralis absent. All great batsmen should take seriously about Mendis..Otherwise Mendis will not achieve his target.

We are realy proud of Mendis, At the age 35 he could exceed 1200 test wickets and 600 onedayers. This is an another extraordinary production by Sri Lanka along with Muraly and Sanath. Loss by one wicket and last ball thriller of the game is great evidence for the anti doller games which we love always. We all enjoyed the game without any kind of blame of last two balls of Vass.(We love West Indies approach but it should be little bit agresive), but Because we have enough thrilled of Mendis debut who can fill the gap more strongly of Muralis absent. All great batsmen should take seriously about Mendis..Otherwise Mendis will not achieve his target.

Ajantha will surely be the next Murali of Sri Lanka..Now it is up to Sri Lankan cricket officials to take care of him and the most important thing is not to expose his mystery delivaries to the world of cricket quickly..let him speak by the ball..Austrlians and other extremits(such as Bishan Bedi) may try to pull his legs...so Ajantha ..BEWARE... and "cricket world.. BEWARE FROM AJANTHA"

Well.....Ajantha looked to be a good bowler and a good prospect for the future.But I for one hope that he be given a chance to settle down and then judge his performance over a period of time. Specially in India I have seen so many times where young cricketers performed in a match or two and ten they have been termed along with legends. I remember people trying to compare Pathan to Kapil Dev. One Joseph was considered the next Jonty Rhodes and then dissapeard for good after a match or two of poor performances.

I hope the media will not makeAjantha Mendis a overnight hero and then he falls flat on the face. Media....and all writers......Leave him alone.

Feel really sorry for Vaas, what is he going through now.

The 4,1,4 and 6IXER were amazing from Chanderpaul from the 48.5th over onwards. Like the hopeful Windies fans, I clung to hope, believing miracles do happen and last night we witnessed one. The only thing missing was the stage (like the Miandad Six in Sharjah) but this was no less a shot in the circumstance AND a SIX was needed here (unlike Javed's). I tuned in from the 42nd over hoping to see a classic and for 7.4 overs seemed I was wrong - Love Test cricket, but this ODI was most impressive.

Vettori, Monty, Kaneria et al certainly aren't in the same class, but the Indians have some good prospects in Singh, Chawla and Powar.

Mendis, good, but then so was Danish and Monty (and Harris) - and Jeetan - when they started.

He was impressive, but give him a 1000 overs and not 10overs Rob, though I can see your excitement in your article.

its scucks k only one murali in the world k

Danish is a painful subject for Pakistani's and avid cricket fans world over at the moment - I hope he gets his mojo back, but agreed, if Harris is the best new spinner then this aspect of cricket is in trouble (nothing personal on the Springbok).

Shiv - WOW
Bravo - BRAVO!
Gayle - Cucumber (cool as)
Mendis - wrecker of dreams and yes, I agree

He may be the new Murali (I hope so) but I really hope for the sake of cricket that the WIndies are back. Sadly as Pakistan and SAfrican seem unable to challenge Australia (leave aside one off successes from England and New Zealand) I think it is for Windies to topple the mantle and regain their position at the top!

Well, I think he's good no doubt. But give the batsmen sometime and they'll figure him. Its the first time they saw him bowl. I think he'll be effective in the sub-continent but will struggle as the batsmen see more of him.

It is true that mendis is showing promise. What i dont understand is why mahela and the management try to ruine Bandara's future by not giving him a chance who have even have a good record when he had to replace Murali. Its nice to have Mendis performing. Hope both will get an equal chance.

Ajantha Mendis is showing such excellent promise. I am however rather disappointed with Ranil Abenayake who had to spell out that Ajantha is in the SL Army. I do not think that was necessary and it was very stupid under the circumstances in the world. There is an old saying think before you leap. Unfortunately commentators like Ranil and even Tony Cozier suffer from verbal diarrhoea.

Ajantha Mendis s just great....his variations were superb.he is def. da future f spin bowling...sri lanka hv found out a new Jem....

How wonderful it was to see a bowler turn it both ways without bending his elbow, and the rules of the game, in the process. Never mind the new Murali - Mendis already deserves plaudits for realising that you don't need to cheat to bamboozle batsmen.

Man i tell you this guys is something special... well to be honest westindian bating is not the greates judge but he was on the spot and spun it every way with tons of variety... if he keeps this up Sri lanka will have a strong spin duo and will be unbeatable in the next world cup in the subcontinent...

With more specific coaching, videos etc. being available, batsman are much more adept against spin, which has made it difficult for finger spinners to find a place, let alone a wicket in a test. it's great to see a guy so different, who can show so much variation, while maintaining control. I hope you are right about his future Rob, but we already know that he grips the ball in three different ways (and it's only been one game!). It's certainly going to be a great test of the kid's ability and character. My money is certainly on him!

i love how street cricket seems to be influencing the 'real' versions of the sport! similarly to lasith malinga's slingy action which produces lethal yorkers (even he admits he developed this while playing tennis-ball cricket), ajantha mendis's style of "mix-it-up" off-spin/leg-spin/googlies/seam is quite common in tennis-ball cricket scene, especially in my home country of sri lanka. if this really is the future of spin bowling in the test match/ODI arena, then sri lanka should be in good shape - there's a whole lot more of us who can make even a tennis ball talk!

Murali is not getting any younger...Sri Lanka's recent success is due to it's bowling attack having variety between murali's spin and a decent seam trio to back him up. Hopefully Ajantha can bring this team back on the right track. Not to mention the team needs a replacement in the top order for Sanath Jayasuriya as well as a player than can be used as an all rounder.

All true lovers of the game welcomes the advent of Mendis. One hopes that he will be around for two decades or so.

Its nice to see a new kid on the block. But we have to be cautious. Just a single one-day game and we are already speculating him to be like Murali or a Warne. We should wait to see what he can do in a Test match situation. Let him play for another 2 years (around 40-50 ODIs) and around 10-15 tests to judge his real talent.

There have been many bits and pieces bowlers who bowl a mixed bag in limited overs cricket, but not many have gone on and matched greatness.

Historically the spinners who have one stock ball like Leg break, off break have been more successful.

Its still early days and all we can do is wish him good luck.

Mendis is definitely one for the future, but kudos go out to Chanderpaul and the WI team for a tremendous victory.

Wait till they sort him out. My take is that he starts his run-up like a medium pacer and the batsmen are not sure what to expect - my guess is that he will go the Paul Adams way!

lol the hate at IPL had to be there, isnt it? dollars and non-sense. as if t20 doesnt provide the final ball thrills that this match took 99 overs to reach at.

I was watching his bowling and thought "here we go". He was good. But do not rush him too much and put lots of pressure. We have seen so many talents have been wasted in the past mainly due to SL selectors' wimps and inappropriate use.
Also hope no soon jump on his action!! There is nothing I can see of but you never know. There are people out there do not like to see such a talent comes out from SL. He definitely will become a good match to Murali and hope both together will trouble world class batsmen soon.
As someone said earlier post, with good pack of seam bowlers, these two will add the variation and give a run for world class batsman. I can see the bright future for this guy and SL cricket.

people gettin all excited coz a leggie did well in his debut game against the west indies. can anyone say narendra hirwani?

I remember checking out the Sri lankan domestic season stats and sreamng in my head why this guy was not even in the squad. well for once the selectors seem to have the eye on the ball. i thought Kapugedara did quite well too.

Well done to C'paul for winning that game for the WI. it was a great game of cricket wich reminded my what makes cricket special. aslo reminded me of a game in Sharjar in 1995 but i that instance Hashan Tillekeratnes shot was cought on the boundry.

LOL....Sri Lanka bring the most UNIQUE players to the game! All the other teams are so NORMAL. That's why the Sri Lankans are the most exciting to watch! WELL DONE Sri Lanka!!

exciting talent.His domestic record is amazing and so are his variations.Cricket needs more players like him.May be SRK should try to sign him for kolkata knight riders in place of Akhtar.

The way Ajantha Mendis had Sarwan hopping on the crease was just unbeleivable... For a 23 year old making his debut, to have such a seasoned batsman clueless means here is a really good talent. Hope he develops into a really good spinner and not fall by the way side like many others in the past.....

I was really amazed the way he troubled the in form Sarwan as he was shattered the way Ajantha was bowling to him. Now its time for the selector to give him more exposure to international cricket rather than the bench. He will be the next King of spin to Sri Lanka cricket with record books written with his agile spin and mistery googly.Hopefully Ajantha can bring this team back on the right track. Also the captaincy should be transferred to Sangakkara.

Thanks for bringing that wonderful info to light about this new and awsome exciting prospect of international cricket. Having watched him bowl his firstr s few ball on his international debut, I was indeed dazzled at the way the youngster wound-up=in-knots batsmen like Sarwan and Gayle who haplessly proded and missed. It was almost a miracle that Sarwan survived a couple of overs. It was his bowling that kept me awake for long to watch the emerging star onfold all his tricks.
His sttistics were revealing, perhaps never seen before, never mind if those for domestic smaller matches. Wait and see this will be the routine at international level too.
Surely he must be preserved and nurtured as a global treasure. He is the one who set up the grand finale of the ODI and Chaderu made it more so memorable by his last ball six and earlier boundary off Vas who had conceded only 11 runs in 8 ealier overs. That is what will keep cricket so exciting!!!

one more example of over the top writing..for gods sake it is this buggers 1st match stop comparing him with Murali..

i havnt seen this guy bowl, but looking at his stats and your article it seems some thing special is in the pipe line. A good news for cricket but a bad news for batsmen globally, as finally the murali era was coming to an end and with warne gone the batsman thought they could relax a bit! alas, here came ajantha...lol.

How ever only time will tell if he could be compared to the two finest spinners of the modern era (warne & murali).

i think you folks are demented! its just his first game, and you guys are predicting heaps and heaps of views about his future. Pakistan's naveed latif scored a century down at Sharjah, against sri lanka, in his debut, yet the PCB did not really consider him to be a product of comparison with the likes of Inzamam and Mohammed Yousuf. this is insanity. true his debut was brilliant , and his figures were impressive, but to replace muralitharan and warne, with a kid on the block is shere insanity! please use your brains!

Really he is a f****** good bowler.

I was one of the handful Sri Lankans at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad yesterday. The place was jumping. Wow, What an atmosphere. The Digicell girls were not bad either :). WI cricket and fans really needs a few wins like this. I hope they get them against Australia, not against the Lankans ;) Ajantha was very poised and the ball to Sammy was a cracker. I am thrilled to have him in the SL team. Let's give the young lad 100 more games before comparing him to legends. Shall we?!

Rob I couldn't agree more. I had a glimpse of this bloke over couple of games and have no hesitation in saying that "here comes the next Warnie" He's got all variations to be as lethal as Warnie.It's still early days for him but enough has been seen to acknowledge this lad's talent and I'm confident even the best batters in business will find him difficult to pick. I'm an Indian and I'm proud to say that this little fella is going to scale MountEverest within no time provided he's handled well by SL selectors. Pundits say Warnie struggled against fellow Aussie batters in domestic competitions as they played him best... and I can't wait to see a battle between Mendis and mighty Aussies that would make such a thrilling encounter. This boy can become a instant hero if he can get the better of Aussies on a tour down under cause Murali's been slaughtered everytime around which tells me that in Murali we have seen the second best ever spinner behind Warnie to have don the game period.

Mendis bowling in the first odi looked very impressive but onematch don't make him a great bowler. Let's see what happens in the next odi and then against another of the strong teams before we starts to grade him.

Next Murali,Isn't that two early........Murali is a legend.
Hope This kid will keep his head firmly on his shoulders.and show the world what he is capable of.
And Thank God for Rupavahini for showing some of the domastic matches on TV otherwise this kid will never get a chance,Because Sri Lankan selectors are so good,they never consider players who perform at domestic level.because according to cheif of selectors the domestic players are not good enough to play in the next level but player like Jehan Mubark who fails is good enough.
So Mr Cheif of Selector's what do you have to say regarding this kid.you had to give him a chance because he played well in Provencial matches otherwise he would be swept under the carpet like many others so shall we give a chance to players like Sajeewa Weerakoon, Shanuka Dissnayake, Anushka Polonowita, Chamara Komasaru and Anil Rideegammanagedara.And why don't the these palyers- Nuwan Zoya,Gayan Wijekoon, Dilhara Lokuhettige and Hasantha Fernanado get

Mr Asantha De Mel, Can you tell us why Nuwan Zoya,Gayan Wijekoon, Dilhara Lokuhettige and Hasantha Fernanado aren't getting any second chances like jehan Mubark, not second chance can't count the chances he is getting,geez.........

MENDIS another sapoter to our great MURALI "nubata deepthimath angathayak putha."!!!

he is good,but for now we will just wait and see how well he will do against better batsmen of spin bowling

Mendis is the person to replace with Murali in the future of Sri Lankan cricket.
He has absolutely talent to do something special. I love to see him play both ODI and test matches and become a King of Murali 11 & Good luck!!

He is superb. He need guidance so the coach must shape him. If he can improve his cricket brain he will definitely become a lethal weapon. This Sri Lankan team has few problems. I was searching for those for sometimes and I think I found out them.
1. Mahela's attitude as a captain is not upto the level so Sanga must be appointed, at least for ODI, as the captain.
2. There are few players who are so vulnerable when batting against good pace bowling, such as Dilshan, Tharanga. They are poor performers and even they score runs, we think that anytime they will get out.
3. I believe the captain favours certain players. Specially Mubharak & Tharanga. Players like vandort Warnapura, Kapugedara are not appreciated as others.
4. People who are involved in cricket know that Sanga is the best in terms of ATTITUDE, KNOWLEDGE & he is the most favourite player in the team. SO WHY NOT Sanga FOR THE CAPTAINCY !!!!!

The bowling Ajantha Mendis is like a box of quality chocolates. You never know what you are going to get next, but you can be sure that it is going to be "finger flicking" good.

Folks, Ajantha Mendis will never be another Murali. If he makes good his potential, he will be Ajantha Mendis, the world class spin bowler, not Murali the Second.

Same as Shane Warne, same as Anil Kumble, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill O'Reilly, Abdul Qadir, and many more. To hail an upcoming talent as the next "such as such" is the worst damage you can inflict on it. CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW, or risk killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

I hope and pray that Ajantha does possess the mental reslience to remain unaffected by both bouquets and brickbats. (The latter will come in due time). And it will be sobering to note that it will not be his bowling variations that will make him great. (Any competent batsman will work that out in time). It will be his thinking that will make him great. His ability to outthink the best of batsmen. Nothing less.

So, calm down, for heaven's sake. Let the man flower first.

I watched the match ball by ball. He is an ideal candidate to fill Murali’s place one day. I have seen other Srilankan spinners, but Ajantha is a different type of bowler with no fear at any batsmen…… he bowled 4 different type of spin bowling within a over. Behind the stumps Sangakara has given a tremendous support. If you look at his figures at domestic first class matches it’s unbelievable. Good luck Ajantha….. No doubt, you have a good future.

He is very good! I love his attitude. FYI his first class stats are 35 innings, 111 wickets at 14.54, with a strike rate of 32.9 balls per wicket. Now thats a stat to watch!

Cheers Mendis..Go ahead... If he gets 2 ot Test matchens then he will Improve More...He is a good Ballreer batsman's cannot read his balls...

I haven't been keeping tabs with the series in West Indies to be honest, but I may stay up tonight just to see this guy bowl.

It is indeed a welcome sign to see a talented spinner on the horizon. It is good that he is coming when he will not have to fight hard to earn a place in the Sri Lankan side as some of the great spinners of India (like Kanwaljeet Singh or Padmalker Shivalkar) who could not play for country as India already has world class quality spinners in its ranks. So as Murali goes on towards 1,000 test wickets, Mendis can build up experience in One-day Internationals and few tests on the way. Therefore, when Murali retires, he will be ready to take his place. Sri Lanka are indeed lucky to have a successor to Murali even before Murali has retired. Such talented bloke can be a good replacement for even fast bowler like Chaminda Vaas. Best of Luck Mendis and hope he is consistent and prove that he is truly talented.

absolutely you are correct Mr. Rob, its pleasant to see the young lad performing really well on his debut.. but i think we should be patient and see him playing more games. he has long way to go. its too early to compare him with great murali or warne. mendis have to put massive effort if he want to reach upto that level. lets hope.. i believe SL authorities have big responsibility to protect this type of treasures..cheers

Ya, a very exciting prospect on the horizon. let us give him time and see what happens. let us hope for the best as the ( quality ) spinners race is becoming thinner and thinner. Best of luck Mendis!!!

I watched him play that night and had the feeling that he might be the one to carry on after the great Murali for the Srilankans and also for the cricket world. But I think we should be cautious before putting a heavy burden on him. Let's just wait and see for the coming days. If he can really live up to the expectations than it would be another great thing to happen in cricket in this century.

I was preparing for bed when i saw the youngster's first over. I wanted more and stayed up till 3 am. What he could do to the ball with his fingers is amazing.Certainly would love to see this talent pitted against the Indians.

Rob you may be not be aware to the fact that Ajantha Mendis has already added a new word to cricket's literature - the Carrom Ball - since he has a delivery that is flicked with his fingers as a Carrom player would do to the disc on a Carrom Board.So here we are - Saqlain/Muali invented the Doosra and Ajantha invented the Carrom Ball.

It is too early to predict.Man what a bowler Murali is.Mendis has to show taking 300 wickets in no time and then we can say "Is he next Murali?"

Some people were wonderin of a weak team without Murali and Vaas, askin 'what SL can do without them?'
Ajantha Mendis will develop himself within several years, and he will be another spin king
(Australia will be targeting him like Murali and Harbajan Singh)
Guys, do not expect a Murali from Ajantha...
He will be Ajantha Mendis.

Twelve years ago a very ordinary school in Moratuwa produced an outstanding spin bowler-Saman Kandage-ask the Guildford CC,UK & his spin partner there(Ashley Giles)!
Now another =Ajantha Mendis! Best wishes AM!

It's too early to compare A. Mendis with Murali or Warne or Kumble or Prasanna or Gibbs or any one. Only think we could do is to pray for him for better future and be a great cricketer in the years to come. I think that will be great for the cricket lovers. Good luck to Mendis.

He is really a great find for the lankans. It has become a habit for the media to compare new guys with established greats. It does no good to the youngsters. Give them time and support to grow and perform. Stop putting unnecessary pressures by doing such comparisions. I surely agree that ajantha is a great talent and watching him bowl was wonderful and these kind of new talents bring great flair to the game. I wish him allthe best and to keep his cool and levelheadedness among such purposeless comparisions

This guy looks seriously good. 100 odd wickets in 11 matches or something before that ODI. Best of all he will not ever have the chucker tag attached to him, oh and that doosra is incredible!

To quote a famous columnnist in a local (Sri Lanka) daily, 'These comments are going to be the thorn amid all these glowing bouquets. Jack Iverson? Johnny Gleeson? Come off it. Throwing around brand names as though they are fancy Armani suit labels because this guy looks different is not going to work. The West Indies batsmen treated him as a medium-pace bowler and he was handled with ease in the second game.
'Wait until the nimble-footed Indians and Pakistan batsmen get hold of him. It will be a genuine leather hunt expedition.'
It seems the writer saw both Iverson and Gleeson and suggests Mendis is a long way from being in the same category.
I am inclined to agree. It is far too early to presuppose the future. For me, as well as the columnist it seems, the jury is still out on this bowler and his future.

okay okay good call on Mendis. But why u so bitter on IPL ? Or are u one of those who just woke up and realized india is going to lead the way in world cricket?

Would the term Carrom Ball catch the imagination of cricket scribes around the world as the Doosra? What are your views? I personally feel the more wickets Ajantha Mendis takes the more popular the term Carrom Ball would become.