Kusal Mendis one bright spark in the English cold

One of the few positives to emerge from the current tour of England by the Srilanka Cricket team Kusal Mendis is the batting of Kusal Mendis at the vital number three position.

It is a key spot in the batting order and it has been occupied by batsmen in the caliber of Roy Dias, Ranjan Madugalle, Asanka Gurusinha, Roshan Mahanama, Russell Arnold and the greatest of them all Kumar Sangakkara.

Since Sangakkara’s exit from international cricket last year Sri Lanka has been struggling to find a suitable replacement to fill in that big void. Upul Tharanga was tried out in that position, Dimuth Karunaratne was experimented with, failing which they gave it to Lahiru Thirimanne and then to Udara Jayasundera.

Now that pivotal position in the batting order has been given to Mendis who has so far responded with great promise. Making his Test debut against West Indies in October last year Mendis scored 13 and 39 at the P Sara Oval. On the current tour to he has been given that position and he has answered with three half-centuries – two in the side games against Essex and Leicestershire and in the first Test against England at Leeds which incidentally happened to be his maiden Test half-century.

“I had a great start on this tour, and that puts me in a good position to play the games coming up,” said Mendis. “Everyone said it was a good innings, but they also gave me some advice on the weaknesses – especially about foot movement. We’re very disappointed as a side at how the match turned out, but we’re hopeful of doing better.”

Mendis was one batsman who was prepared to take the fight to the English bowlers who reigned supreme in helpful conditions.

Barely 21, Mendis represents an exciting talent that has emerged from the schools which is very rare these days. A product of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Mendis won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award in 2013 before going onto lead his country in the Under 19 Cricket World Cup the following year.

He made his first-class debut for Bloomfield in the Premier League in 2015, but although he was in the national selector’s radar for some time it was not until he made a tour of Hyderabad in September for the Moin-ud-Dowla trophy that paved the way for his entry into the national team. With scores of 156, 52 and 47 he came into contention for a place in the home series against West Indies and now he has been given a further extension in the ongoing series against England to cement his place in the number three slot.

Mendis himself knows that there is a wide gap to bridge between playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka and Test matches.

“It’s a big difference. I’ve only really played club cricket before this. I haven’t played in the A team. I was in some development sides. It’s a big challenge to score runs,” said Mendis. “But I’m glad I am able to be here. I did well with the development team in India last year, so that gives me a little confidence.”

Playing in England is not all new to this exciting right-hander. “I played for a club called Southgate in the Middlesex league. I got a lot of good experience from that, partly because I was on my own,” said Mendis.

“I learned a lot about how to adjust to conditions and how to deal with that initial disappointment of not knowing them very well and also about how to play when it’s cold. I had to do that alone, and got a lot of useful experience from that,” he said.

But being with the national team Mendis is not all alone, he has plenty of support coming his way.

“Everyone helps me – the captain, the vice-captain, the coach – everyone. I’m the youngest, but no one treats me differently. Whether I’m doing well or had a bad game I feel that support,” said Mendis.

“No one has tried to change my technique much. They’ve just asked me to play as I was. Mentally there were a few changes. The advice was mainly about mentally adjusting. They told me about being patient at this level, because it’s five-day cricket. That was something they stressed.

“They’ve also told me about how to respond when bowlers talked to me. If we go to argue with them, we lose our concentration. It’s important to focus on the game,” he said.

The current tour of England is proving to be a learning curve for young Mendis who is keen to secure a permanent place in the team.

“I’ve played in the number three position before – for club and development teams. It’s a big responsibility. I’ve been thinking about what is possible for me and what needs to be done there,” said Mendis.

“I have to contribute runs to stay in that position and the team. I try to bat the same way every day, with allowances for the pitch. Some wickets you can score quickly and others you can’t.”

There’s no doubt the Mendis is a strong legside player and the opposition will be keenly noting it. To be able to overcome that and score runs is the key to a good player and Mendis has all the ingredients to succeed.