Unfortunately for them Kulasekara with 21 Test caps and 48 Test wickets behind him announced his retirement from the longer version of the game at the beginning of the month to focus his attention on the sport’s shorter formats in which he is considered a greater threat with the ball.

It was at Lord’s that Kulasekara made his highest Test score of 64 – the only half-century he scored in that format, and helped Sri Lanka earn a honourable draw against England after being made to follow-on 359 runs in arrears.

That remarkable rearguard action took place on the 2006 tour when Sri Lanka shot out for 192 in their first innings in reply to England’s mammoth total of 551-6 declared made a tremendous fight back to deprive the host of a likely victory. Sri Lanka eventually ended on a handsome 537 for nine wickets having batted a marathon 199 overs and keeping England on the field for two and a half days.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene played a captain’s knock of 119 in six hours, but after his dismissal at 371 Sri Lanka were still not safe from defeat. It was here that Sri Lanka’s late order and the tail showed guts and gumption.

Tillakaratne Dilshan batting at number seven scored 69 off 145 balls, but after his dismissal at 421-8 Sri Lanka were not out of danger yet.

It was at this point that Kulasekara joined Chaminda Vaas to frustrate England and earn Sri Lanka a creditable draw. The pair put on 105 for ninth wicket with Kulasekara’s share in the partnership being a gallant 64 off 133 balls.

He defied the England bowlers comprising Hoggard, Flintoff, Mahmood, Plunkett, Collingwood and Panesar for 189 minutes.

When Kulasekara was finally dismissed Vaas left unbeaten on 50.

The Cricinfo match report stated: “When England enforced the follow-on nobody expected them to need a third new ball; even this was repelled by the lower-order. Panesar was introduced with a relatively hard ball and Kulasekara twice lofted him over midwicket, the second of which brought up a maiden Test fifty off 92 balls and also carried Sri Lanka past 500.

In the first innings Kulasekara’s 29 was nothing more than an annoyance, his second effort turned into one of the more memorable rearguards and the highest score by a Sri Lankan No. 10.”

Kulasekara’s final Test appearance for Sri Lanka was also against England at Lord’s two years ago.

What Test cricket will be missing is Kulasekara’s lovely smooth action which helps him to hurl the ball at a lively pace, getting enough seam movement both ways to trouble the batsman. His skills lie in his ability to produce inswing and he is well known for his moderate nature to the batsmen, seldom being overly aggressive. He is regarded as one of the best swing bowler’s currently playing cricket.

Kulasekara came of age in the year 2008, when he took 47 wickets – which propelled him to the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers in March 2009. The retirement of Vaas and the inconsistency of Lasith Malinga proved to be a boon for Kulasekara as he leapfrogged them to emerge as the strike bowler of his side.

Despite lacking express pace Kulasekara made the most of his ability to swing the new ball and has been a standout performer in ODIs as his 186 wickets from 173 matches prove.

So it is no surprise that the 33-year-old fast bowler has decided to continue to play for Sri Lanka in the two shorter formats – 50 overs and T20.

In the present context of what the team is undergoing in England, Sri Lanka would dearly love to have someone of Kulasekara’s ability in the side not only to boost their bowling line up but also the tail which the current lot apart from Rangana Herath have fallen short of delivering.

Sri Lanka have called up reinforcements for the five ODIs after their 2-0 hammering in the Tests.

Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara and, depending on fitness, Lasith Malinga are among a number of players injected into the ODI squad.

But as much as they want to get on the winning side of the ledger McCullum is equally adamant he wants to sign off his illustrious 13-year-career on a winning note.

The opening ODI is on Boxing Day in Christchurch, McCullum’s hometown and where he will play his last international in the second Test against Australia in two months.

“We’ve got a bumper calendar really with Sri Lanka here at the moment, Pakistan to come and finishing off with the Aussies,” he said.

“From a playing point of view and a captain’s point of view, I’m fully committed to playing at the absolute top of my game and make as many contributions as I can.”

Coach Mike Hesson said he does not expect McCullum’s retirement announcement to have an adverse effect on the team.

“We’re expecting the guys to carry on in a similar style of play in terms of how we want to go about things,” Hesson said.

“We will still be quite aggressive in the way we go about the game and we’ll certainly be asking that of our players.”

Nearly half the team beaten by Australia in the World Cup final in March will be missing from the Sri Lanka series.

Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson are injured, Daniel Vettori has retired, Trent Boult is being spelled for the ODI series and Tim Southee is being rested for the first two games.

However, Adam Milne, New Zealand’s quickest bowler and who missed the World Cup final because of a heel injury, returns to the side.

He joins Mitchell McClenaghan, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell as the pace-bowling options, with the quartet vying for places in the squad to be named for the World Twenty20 in India in March.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was disappointed the way his side folded in the Tests but expected a better showing in the limited overs series.

“Dilshan, Kulasekara and Thirimanne are joining the one-day team and we’ve got a fair bit of experience so we are looking to give them a good run for their money,” he said.

“I have a lot of confidence in the one dayers.”

One bright spot for Sri Lanka in the failed Test campaign was the emergence of 23-year-old Dushmantha Chameera as a talented quick bowler.

“He’s played just a few games and he’s been absolutely brilliant and he was able to shake the New Zealanders. He’s a great, bright prospect for us going forward,” Mathews said.

“He doesn’t have a lot of seam movement. It’s just that he can bowl fast.

– AFP