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Cricket World Cup Teams - Sri Lanka
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Full name Marvan Samson Atapattu
Born November 22, 1970, Kalutara
Current age 34 years 234 days
Major teams Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak
class mat inns no runs hs ave bf sr 100 50 4s 6s ct
st
Tests 81 141 15 5018 249 39.82 16 13 623 3 52 0
ODIs 225 219 26 7296 132* 37.80 10879 67.06 11 50 624 15 61 0
First-class 217 329 49 13934 253* 49.76 47 48 143 0
List A 282 275 39 9394 132* 39.80 17 62 80 0
class mat balls runs wkts bbi bbm ave econ sr 4 5 10
Tests 81 48 24 1 1/9 1/9 24.00 3.00 48.00 0 0 0
ODIs 225 51 41 0 - - - 4.82 - 0 0 0
First-class 217 1302 692 19 3/19 36.42 3.18 68.52 0 0
List A 282 81 64 1 1/12 1/12 64.00 4.74 81.00 0 0 0
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Test debut India v Sri Lanka at Chandigarh - Nov 23-27, 1990
scorecard
Last Test New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Wellington - Apr 11-14, 2005
scorecard
ODI debut India v Sri Lanka at Nagpur - Dec 1, 1990 scorecard
Last ODI New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Auckland - Dec 26, 2004
scorecard
First-class span 1988/89 - 2004/05
List A span 1990 - 2004/05
A vulnerable starter, Atapattu can show immense
strength of character once he gets his eye in. On a lifeless pitch,
he is a master of the percentage game, his caution a useful
counterpoint to the risks taken by Sanath Jayasuriya, his opening
partner almost throughout his Test career. All his big Test innings
- he has scored six double-hundreds in his career, a feat bettered
only by Don Bradman (12), Wally Hammond and Brian Lara (seven each)
- have been slow affairs but the most tortuous episode of his
international career was its start: it took him nearly seven years
to get established. However, since the 1990s his average has climbed
upwards. An elegant player to watch, Atapattu's signature shot is
his high-elbow cover-drive.
For three years he stood as Jayasuriya's understudy
before being appointed to lead the one-day side in April 2003. He
had been expected to take charge of the Test team as well, but the
selection committee appointed Hashan Tillakaratne for that job.
Atapattu's career took another bizarre twist later in the year when
embroiled in the cash-in-the-bedroom affair in which a match-fixing
investigation was initiated after a large sum of cash was discovered
in the safe of the hotel room he had occupied during England's tour
in 2003. The ICC later cleared Atapattu of any wrongdoing and the
likeliest explanation for the mystery remains a crude attempt to
blacken his reputation.
But by early 2004 the team was drifting downwards
under Tillakaratne and the selectors were finally compelled to
appoint Atapattu as the Test captain. Within weeks he had halted the
team's slide and established himself as a strong leader. On the
surface a quiet and reserved character, his captaincy pedigree was
not entirely obvious to the outsider, but within the dressing-room
he was a straight-talking and positive captain, firm and fair in his
dealings with the players and aggressive in his approach to the
game. By mid-2004 the fortunes of the team had changed as Sri Lanka
won the Asia Cup and whitewashed South Africa. The team fared poorly
in the ICC Champions Trophy but perked up against Pakistan in
October 2004.
But Atapattu's capacity for attracting the
unexpected continued when, out of the blue, Ashantha de Mel, the new
government-appointed chairman of selectors, launched a scathing
attack on the team management on the eve of the Paktel Cup in
2004-05, accusing them of blocking his attempts to blood new
players. Atapattu wisely steered clear of a public confrontation.
While there is no question of Atapattu being axed - he has the
overwhelming support of the team - his relationship with the
selectors remains prickly
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