Sanath Jayasuriya quits Test cricket:

Golden memories and silver tears at Asgiriya

Elmo Rodrigopulle

In the words of that perennial by the late Jim Reeves, it was ''Golden memories and silver tears' at the Asgiriya Cricket Stadium in Kandy, on Monday.

Golden memories came in the form of Muttiah Muralitheran going past Shane Warne's world Test Wicket taking record and it was silver tears with Sanath Jayasuriya announcing his retirement from Test cricket.

It is said that all good things must come to an end and it was so with Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, one if not the greatest cricketer produced by Sri Lanka.

After a scintillating second innings score of 78 against England in the First Test at Asgiriya, Jayasuriya tagged the 'black superman' decided that enough was enough and drew stumps on his Test cricketing career.

But millions of his fans here in Sri Lanka and the cricketing world over can rest assured that he will not be lost for ever but give continuity to his one-day career and continue to entertain with his exciting and magnificent strokeplay.

Even at 38, the arrogant manner in which he played the England bowlers showed and proved that he was fit enough to give continuity to his Test career. But then as he said, it was time to call it quits and make way for the youngsters to take his place.

And to think that there will be another of his brilliant kind to take his place, must be to dream the impossible dream. While he failed to emulate the six sixes in an over achieved by Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Herschelle Gibbs, Jayasuriya rewrote the Test history books by blasting England paceman James Anderson for six fours in an over, which has never before been achieved in the established game.

Sobers and Shastri did it in first class games while Gibbs did it in the one-day game. It was like the lights going off in a carnival when he announced his retirement as cricket fans and the game stopped stupefied unable to come to terms that one of the game's greats was going off the field, never ever to be seen in Test cricket.

From the time he served notice of his prowess as a youngster playing in Pakistan and notching two double hundreds with the Sri Lanka team, he never looked back and served notice that a cricketing star of a very rare kind was born.

His left handed strokeplay was something from out of this world. With wrists of steel and forearms that was iron, he hammered fours and sixes that were rare beauties with timing and power that was mystifying.

When on song no bowler could bowl line or length to him as he began to unwind and let fly boundaries that looked rocket poppled. Especially his square cutting, hooking and pulling were things of beauty and watched and enjoyed with amazement.

His centuries in Test cricket as well as in the one-dayers had to be seen to be believed. I have been on several tours with him and can vouch for the wonderful innings that he played that came in for high praise from everyone who had the good fortune of seeing the superman perform.

Jayasuriya became the first Sri Lankan batsman to go beyond the 300 run mark, until it was bettered by the present Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena who made 374.

His records, in all aspects of the game are too numerous to mention. It would require reams and reams to describe, but suffice to say - thank you for the cricketing music.

Memories are made of this.