DUBAI // Ajantha Mendis, the burgeoning superstar of spin bowling, cuts a strikingly different figure off the field to the one on it. Such has been his startling rise this year, Mendis is almost certain to carry off the Emerging Player of the Year award when the ICC dish out their version of the Oscars tonight. The bowler, 23, hails from the small town of Moratuwa, known more for producing fine furniture than spin bowling sensations.
Going by his wide-eyed expression at the pre-function press conference at the plush Westin Hotel yesterday, Mendis is still acclimatising to his newly-earned stardom. As a media scrum assembled around Mahela Jayawardene, who still finds time from translating for Mendis to captain Sri Lanka, the young prodigy cowered in a corner, trying not be noticed. It is hard to believe he is the same man who ripped through India's batting last month, taking a world-record 26 wickets in his debut Test series. The transformation from callow everyman to cricketing superman is Clark Kent-esque - give him a ball and watch him fly.
Jayawardene says he immediately knew he had a special talent on his hands when Mendis joined his own provincial side at the end of last year. Up until then, he had been playing in the second-rank of Colombo club cricket with the Army team. "The way he went about what he was doing impressed me because he was bowling against guys like Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya," said Jayawardene. "The confidence he had - he was setting his own fields and knew exactly what he was doing, and he does the same in international cricket - you could tell he wasn't overawed by the opposition he is up against. He knows what his strengths are, he knows what he can do, and he has a lot of confidence in his ability. That is the most impressive thing.
"The way he came into international cricket, from a background of not having played that much first-class cricket, is amazing." Squeezing conversation out of Mendis is about as easy as trying to read his bowling. Jayawardene admits that, even in his native Sinhalese, he does not chat much. "I am happy just to be a nominee," said Mendis, via his captain, when quizzed on whether he will beat Stuart Broad, Morne Morkel and Ishant Sharma to the prize. "To get the start I got was beyond my imagination, with the West Indies series followed by the Indian series.
"I am very proud of what we have achieved and thankful for having the teammates I have. I want to work hard and continue what I have been doing for the past few months." The Sri Lankan cricket chiefs were recently reported to have turned down an approach from an English county side on Mendis's behalf. With Sri Lanka scheduled to tour England next summer, some perceived the move as an attempt to shield their secret weapon from too much exposure and analysis. The theory is not without substance. Even though Mendis has been on the international scene for barely a year, Sri Lanka already have experience when it comes to hiding their ace.
They rested him for their Asia Cup group match against India in July, in the knowledge they would be playing the same team in the final. The ploy worked like a charm: in the final, Mendis returned one of the greatest spells in the history of one-day internationals, leaving the befuddled Indians shell-shocked as Sri Lanka retained their title. pradley@thenational.ae
