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.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum set the stage for a tantalising conclusion at Dunedin’s University Oval with a sporting declaration that offered Sri Lanka more than five sessions to reach a 405-run target.

But the tourists’ response was disrupted by three stoppages as southerly squalls swept across the ground. Further showers are forecast for the final day.

At stumps on day four, with an hour’s play lost because of the weather, Sri Lanka were 109 for three, requiring a further 296 runs to pull off an epic victory.

Dinesh Chandimal is not out 31 and captain Angelo Mathews has yet to face.

Sri Lanka’s highest fourth-innings chase is 352-9 against South Africa in 2006 and the highest by any side in New Zealand is 348-5 by the West Indies in 1969.

McCullum declared New Zealand’s second innings at 267-3 to go with their 137-run first innings advantage.

Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis set about building a foundation reaching 54 in the 27th over when New Zealand struck twice.

Southee had Karunaratne, Sri Lanka’s top scorer in the first innings, caught behind for 29 and 10 runs later debutant Udara Jayasundera fell to Neil Wagner for 3.

Mendis, in only his second Test, persevered for 150 deliveries and benefited from dropped catches on 13 and 25 before he was caught behind off Southee for 46 with the score on 109.

Before his replacement Mathews could reach the crease a hail storm brought play to a halt for the third and final time.

The dismissal of Mendis gave wicketkeeper BJ Watling a New Zealand record ninth catch for the Test.

With seven wickets left he has a chance to reach the world record of 11 jointly held by England’s Jack Russell and South African AB de Villiers. After New Zealand resumed the day at 171-1, McCullum called an end to the innings after he belted his second six to equal the world record for the number of sixes hit in Tests.

It took his total to 100, joining Australia;s Adam Gilchrist as the most prolific boundary busters in Test history.

McCullum was 17 not out when he declared, with the 23-year-old opener Tom Latham unbeaten on 109, having notched up his third Test century.

Kane Williamson, who reached his half century with the second ball of the morning, was out for 71.

It was the 20th time he has passed 50 in all forms of international cricket this year including eight times in Tests.

Latham offered two chances which were not taken and had a nerve-wracking wait on 99 when Sri Lanka challenged a rejected lbw appeal.

Several replays proved inconclusive and the Sri Lankans were helped by the ball-tracker technology not working. AFP

Over the past three years Sri Lanka have lost top batters of the calibre of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and the youngsters who have been picked in their place have a big task ahead of them in trying to fill their shoes.

For players like Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Udara Jayasundera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Kusal Perera the doors have been opened to consolidate a permanent place in the Lankan batting line-up for the next decade or so and the current tour to New Zealand gives them the ideal opportunity to do so.

“I like to see our young batsmen step into the big boots and show some character and what they really are capable of by getting runs in each of the two Test matches ahead of us. We are preparing to the best of our ability with the resources available,” said interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne.

In the only three-day warm-up game ahead of the first Test, four batsmen managed to score fifties notably opener Dimuth Karunaratne (93), Udara Jayasundera (63), Kithuruwan Vithanage (61) and skipper Angelo Mathews (54 n.o.) in Sri Lanka’s totals of 193 and 226-6

“Though we could have performed better, however we at least got some match practice in the middle from what I believe the players would have benefitted. What really matters is when the real competition begins next Thursday,” Jayaratne said.

The team arrived in Dunedin on Sunday the day after the three-day game at Queenstown and was greeted by conditions, quite understandably quite different to that at home.

“It is freezing cold here being the closest point to the South pole. We are aware of the hurdles and obstacles we would face but we are doing our best to get used to the conditions,” said Jayaratne.

“Giving excuses at the end would not change anything we need to weather the storm and whatever else which stands in our way.”

The back injury to their prime fast bowler Dhammika Prasad is the biggest blow for Sri Lanka going into the Test series.

“Dhammika has been our premier fast bowler in recent times so by no means his injury dents our pace attack. However it gives another bowler an opportunity to stand up and see what he is capable of at the highest level,” said Jayaratne.

“(Nuwan) Pradeep and Dushmantha (Chameera) also included with (Suranga) Lakmal’s match experience he probably might play the lead role during the Test matches,” he said.

Prasad suffered the injury during the three-day practice match and Jayaratne said that he is returning home which means he will miss the Test series.

Uncapped 24-year-old left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando has been named as Prasad’s replacement. Prasad is Sri Lanka’s leading Test bowler for the 2015 calendar year with 41 wickets from 9 matches at an average of 24.95, eight more than left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.