Rangana Herath’s 5-wicket haul in the last Pakistani innings of this series, while expensive, will mean a longer absence for Ajantha Mendis from the Sri Lankan team. Unless Sri Lanka plans to field three spinners in a Test, it will be Herath who will accompany Murali in the upcoming Tests. This is a stunning setback to the career of Mendis, who was flying high throughout last year.
2009 has been cruel to Mendis. Compare his stats from 2008 and 2009:
Tests in 2008: 26 wickets at 18.38 in 3 Tests
Tests in 2009: 13 wickets at 40.23 in 5 TestsODIs in 2008: 48 wickets at 10.12 in 18 matches
ODIs in 2009: 16 wickets at 22.18 in 10 matchesT20s in 2008: 11 wickets at 5.00 in 3 matches
T20s in 2009: 12 wickets at 11.91 in 7 matches
The ODI and T20 stats for 2009 are not bad in absolute terms, but when compared to his 2008 achievements, they are a stinker. Mendis’s IPL was a disaster as he was not only a member of the much-ridiculed Kolkata Knight Riders, but also his performance (3 wickets at 39.00 from 4 matches at a 7.31 economy rate) was poor. He didn’t play many matches.
It is clear that teams have figured him out. The Sri Lankan management over-hyped him, but then Mendis’s initial performances justified such hype. I think the real problem was that Mendis was so extremely successful that other players and coaches were forced to spend time in trying to beat him. At the international level, there are enough resources, experience and brainpower to accurately understand the playing style of any batsman or bowler.
To counter that, the player has to innovate constantly. Clearly, whatever technique Mendis has is no longer a mystery. And he apparently is unable to produce changes in his bowling that would confuse batsmen. The difference between his Test and ODI performance also suggests that batsmen are much more careful against him, since in ODIs, they are forced to take risks, like it or not.
The best comparison we can make to Ajantha Mendis is Mike Hussey, who had a great start to his career, but subsequently slumped badly. Even though Hussey still maintains a 50+ average, he is no longer that immovable force he was at his career start. In fact, it is surprising that he hasn’t been dropped, something that could yet happen if Australia lose the Ashes and Hussey doesn’t hit a century or two.
I don’t think Mendis is going away entirely. It is difficult to see Herath continuing his success especially after Murali’s return. And Mendis will play a role in ODIs and T20s. But the mystery is gone now and unless he comes up with new tactics, Mendis is no longer the irresistible force!
I don’t know much about the Sri Lankan sides and their players but not sure I agree on your assessment of Hussey. A test batter who has consistently stayed above 50 is very tricky to replace
Hussey has not consistently stayed over 50. He was good for the first couple of years and then he has been averaging in the 30s and 40s. I agree – it is tough to replace him, but he has not been proving himself recently.