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From the Press Box by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Who would dare question if one were to say that Sanath Jayasuriya is the greatest all-round cricketer the one-day game has produced? His feats on the cricket field and his figures easily make him the all time great in the shorter version of the game. Not only has he won matches for his country with his broad bat but also with his orthodox left-arm spin.

At 33 with over 300 one-day appearances under his belt, Jayasuriya reigns supreme amongst all-rounders and there is no one within arms length to challenge his stature as the best all-rounder the overs-limit game has produced.

One look at his career figures will reveal that he is the only cricketer in the world to have scored over 5000 runs and captured over 200 wickets. His present figures are 9077 runs (avg. 31.96) with 16 hundreds and 54 fifties and, 251 wickets (avg. 35.71) from 304 one-day internationals. His strike rate of 88.82 runs per 100 balls ranks among the best in contemporary cricket with only Australia's Adam Gilchrist (91.99) ahead of him. He requires one catch to complete a century of catches.

Jayasuriya's nearest challengers are Steve Waugh (Australia), Jacques Kallis (South Africa) and Carl Hooper (West Indies) all of whom belong to the 5000 runs and 150 wickets bracket.

Jayasuriya is the only cricketer in the world to have completed the double of 500 runs and 25 wickets in a calendar year on four occasions - 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001. Kallis runs him second by performing it three times.

Further records held by Jayasuriya are:

*the highest individual innings by a captain: 189 v India (Sharjah) 2000-01 (it is also jointly the second highest individual score in one-day internationals after Saeed Anwar's 194),

*most number of sixes in a career: 179 (from 304 matches). Pakistani Shahid Afridi ranks second with 161 (179 matches);

*most runs in one over (twice): 30 (w4066661) off Aamer Sohail of Pakistan (Singapore) 1995-6, and, 30 (666642) off Chris Harris of New Zealand (Sharjah), 2000-01;

*most sixes in an innings: 11 (134) v Pakistan (Singapore), 1995-96 (joint record holder with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi);

*fastest fifty: 17 balls, v Pakistan (Singapore) 1995-96; *third fastest hundred: 48 balls, v Pakistan (Singapore), 1995-96;

*third highest in most runs scored off boundaries: 110 (11 sixes, 11 fours) v Pakistan (Singapore) 1995-6 (highest is 118 runs (5 sixes, 22 fours) by Saeed Anwar of Pakistan v India (Chennai) 1996-7);

*second highest number of man-of-the-match awards: 34 (from 304 matches) (highest is 47 from 314 matches by India's Sachin Tendulkar).

No cricketer in the world comes anywhere close to Jayasuriya's achievements and it is not merely figures that we are speaking of. Jayasuriya shot into fame as a pinch-hitter during the 1996 World Cup. It was an innovation, which took the rest of the countries by surprise, and needless to say Sri Lanka went on to win the cup. With Romesh Kaluwitharana, he formed an alliance, which was to take world cricket by storm when they made full use of the field restrictions in the first 15 overs to go over the top and make the maximum runs.

Former England captain Michael Atherton was so exasperated by Jayasuriya's onslaught of his bowlers he was committed to say that Sri Lanka were making use of the first 15 overs as the last 15 overs and called for changes in the games rules. It never happened but his comments went to prove how helpless the opposition was against such tactics.

The fury with which Jayasuriya scored his runs earned him the titles as 'Master Blaster' and 'Black Superman'. He also demonstrated that he was capable of massive scores in Tests by compiling the fourth highest individual innings in history with a mammoth 340 which led to Sri Lanka running up the world record total of 952-6 decl. against India at the R.

Premadasa Stadium, a year after the World Cup triumph.

Jayasuriya became such a dominant figure that he was a captain's dream in any team. Very soon it became evident that the majority of Sri Lanka's success at this level was largely due to his contributions, especially with the bat. Former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore admitted that Sri Lanka won 80 percent of their matches when Jayasuriya scored.

In today's context following the retirements of heavyweights Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva and also Asanka Gurusinha, Roshan Mahanama, the onus has fallen on Jayasuriya's shoulders to deliver. Of late, he has felt the pressures of this new demand placed on him and this has curbed his natural playing style of going after the bowling from the first ball. In recent times we have seen a rather subdued Jayasuriya and not the flamboyant batsman we have all come to know. One hopes that it is only a passing phase and that Jayasuriya will be rid of the shackles that are now bounding him and he will be back to his savage best.

If one can find any chinks in his armour it is that he has not been as successful on bouncy pitches as he has been on the slower subcontinent. Short in stature and powerfully built, the left-hander is one of the world's most uncompromising strikers of the ball. He cuts and pulls with awesome power especially between the arc from third man to cover and from mid-on to square-leg. Opponents who have studied him carefully have set traps for him in the gully and point regions to stem the flow of runs through his favourite area.

The brutality with which Jayasuriya wields his bat is at odds with the shy and gentle manner of the man himself. Even after resigning from the captaincy, he remains a down to earth and popular figure easily accessible to all and sundry.

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