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Loading ...What’s his elbow like?
And is there any danger of you getting over here this summer for some of the international stuff?
Ajantha Mendis
By Will 2 years ago, mid-April Add your comment below
I approached yesterday’s one-dayer between West Indies and Sri Lanka with something of a spring in my step. This was a surprise for many reasons, but it’s explained by the glowing reports that gushed from the media – Cricinfo included – surrounding Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lanka’s great new spinning hope. He is a legspinner, an offie, bowls googlies, toppers, flippers and doosras and no one quite knows what to make of him. He wasn’t quite so mercurial last night, but what fascinated me was his grip. He seems to grasp the ball between the tips of his thumb and middle finger, which looks decidedly precarious – but Sri Lanka encourage the unconventional (Murali, Lasith, etc). Other nations, England in particular, breed orthodoxy and anything less is usually considered nasty and foreign.
Anyway, this bloke looks the real deal. In 19 first-class games he has 111 wickets at 14 apiece. In ODIs, he’s taken 40 wickets at 11 in just 20 games. Watch out, world.
Tags: Ajantha Mendis, spin-bowling, sri-lanka |
15 Responses to “Ajantha Mendis”
April 13th, 2008 at 12.28 pm
April 13th, 2008 at 1.48 pm
Wel I’m looking forward to seeing him myslef- I’m very curious. I guess that’ll be in the Champion’s Trophy, but a Test attack of Vaas, Malinga, Murali and Mendis sounds very dangerous. In fact, it could well be Maharoof, Malinga, Murali and Mendis in a couple of years!
April 13th, 2008 at 2.15 pm
Jim, sadly you’re perfectly safe this summer. About as much chance as you wearing a pair of union jack boxer shorts and wearing a tattoo on your forehead with “I love the Queen”.
April 13th, 2008 at 2.47 pm
I feel like too many people already like him, so i’m going to find a reason to hate him…
April 13th, 2008 at 4.47 pm
His first-class figures are (of course) very good, but take them with a bit of salt. He’s played mostly in Tier B of the Sri Lankan domestic competition, which is teams 11 to 20. Sri Lanka has about the same population base as Australia, so it’s kind of like a rung below second XI state cricket in Australia.
April 14th, 2008 at 10.58 am
I don’t really think the first-class record is really going to tell the full story. The really interesting thing seems to be the variety of deliveries that Mendis seems able to bowl!
Just think! Sri Lanka has managed to make two decent spinners in one man! Where as England… well… *cough cough* =)
April 14th, 2008 at 1.15 pm
By the look of the photo, and the action I saw, he seems to have a straight arm when he delivers the ball.
Amazing!
April 15th, 2008 at 10.12 am
@ Will:
Isnt it great to see some fresh exciting prospects making their way into the limelight as we bid farewell to Warne, Murali , Kumble…?
@Raxar:
A spinner doing well in domestic cricket in the Subcontinent is always a better prospect than a fast bowler. Our batsmen even in lower rungs play spin pretty well and to have a tremendous first class record indicates a genuine talent really. With fast bowlers, often the mediocre ones also triumph in domestic circuit but are all at sea when faced with international standard batsmen.
April 17th, 2008 at 4.32 am
Ajantha Mendis has infact inspired the latest term in the cricket lexicon — Carrom Ball – finger flicking deliveries as in the indoor sport Carrom – where a small disc is flicked on a board. From Saqlain/Muali’s Doosra to Ajantha’s Carrom Ball. Cricket terminology is enriched by the year. Eminent cricket pundits as Tim de Lisle, Rob M Steen and Trevor Chesterfield find the term intriguing and are looking forward to seeing how this term spreads across the world.
April 17th, 2008 at 3.58 pm
http://www.hilalscricket.com/2008/04/video-new-murali-ajantha-mendis.html
See him in action above.
April 18th, 2008 at 12.16 am
Watching how he bowls the doosra is amazing. The way he flicks the ball with his middle finger. Only worry there would be the strain on his finger if he was to bowl long spells in test cricket.
But all in all should be pretty interesting to watch how he goes over the next couple of years.
April 30th, 2008 at 2.19 pm
he’s a finger spinner so i doubt his elbow is at all suspect.
May 27th, 2008 at 4.11 am
Actually iam very much impressed of him.Im very afraid of him
July 7th, 2008 at 8.00 pm
Ricky ponting wrote:
May 27th, 2008 at 4.11 am
Actually iam very much impressed of him.Im very afraid of him
You’d better be Ricky .. coz he is from SL army ..lol .. just kidding
In his carrom ball method, he uses his index finger and the batsman cannot really predict his ball.
Now what? suspicious bowling action? oh that happens every time when a star shines from the subcontinent .. get over your racism you white boys
Anyway, Mendis is amazing .. I wish him good luck for a shinning career in cricket.
Mahela played his trump card in a perfect manner.
Sanath proved that “age is nothing but a number” 
.. and lifted our spirits in late 30s.
Dhoni, I really hope you would “sort it out” .. grow up kiddo.
Congrats SL
It has always been a pleasure living with you in your lovely island for the past few years.
July 9th, 2008 at 5.27 pm
well done bro.
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