A fine technician with an excellent temperament, Jayawardene's exciting arrival in 1997 heralded the start of a new era for Sri Lanka's middle order. His career reached new heights in 2006 when he was named captain, led a 5-0 one-day whitewash over England and then scored a Sri Lankan record 374 against South Africa at the SSC in Colombo. He added 624 for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara - a first-class record. Jayawardene is the best batsman the island had produced since Sanath Jayasuriya (the man whose record Jayawardene took with his 374) and his rich talent fuelled towering expectations. Perhaps mindful of his first Test, when he went out to bat against India at Colombo in 1997 with the scoreboard reading 790 for 4, he soon developed an appetite for big scores. His 66 then was followed by a masterful 167 on a Galle minefield versus New Zealand in his fourth match. A marathon 242 against India followed in his seventh Test. However, after a prolific purple patch from 2000 to early-2002, his form became more patchy. His declining productivity in the one-day game was particularly alarming, although that was partly explained by his shuffling up and down the order. He suffered a run drought during the 2003 World Cup and was dropped immediately after. However, he soon regained his confidence and benefited from a stable batting position at No. 4 after the retirement of Aravinda de Silva. A good Test series against England was followed by a high-scoring run in 2004. He was appointed vice-captain of the one-day side for the second time in his career in 2003 and has been named by the selectors as the heir to the captaincy after Marvan Atapattu's current tenure. Jayawardene was given a chance to show what he brought to the captaincy when Atapattu was hit by back problems and he was named captain for the 2006 tour of England. He produced a stunning double of 61 and 119 at Lord's as Sri Lanka pulled off an amazing rearguard to save the match. The best, though, was still to come. After his 374 he struggled a little and fell into a slump, but as class players do he emerged in grand style and enjoyed a prolific series against England in December 2007. His one-day captaincy reached a high when Sri Lanka made it to the final of the 2007 World Cup, slumped in the following months with inconsistent results and soared again after defeating India to claim the Asia Cup the following year. Off the field he has won great admiration for his huge personal contribution to the HOPE cancer project.
Charlie Austin July 2008

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2007

• 'You don't have to be ugly to be aggressive' (Sep 2, 2008)
  
• Indians gave up easily under pressure - Jayawardene (Sep 1, 2008)
  
• Seniors' struggles cost Sri Lanka (Aug 30, 2008)
  
• This isn't a time to give up, says Jayawardene (Aug 28, 2008)
  
• Jayawardene blames inconsistent batsmen (Aug 27, 2008)
  

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Aug 29, 2008 Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni make an unsuccessful lbw appeal against Mahela Jayawardene © AFP

Aug 29, 2008 Mahela Jayawardene rocks back to cut the ball © AFP

Aug 27, 2008 Mahela Jayawardene took the catch to dismiss Yuvraj Singh © AFP

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