Mathews - The Match Winner Of Yesteryear

A generational talent that was destined for greatness, his journey as a cricketer had many ups and downs, marred by many injuries but as the oldest player among the present lot of cricketers, his fighting spirit is one to remember. Today's story is about one of Sri Lanka's greatest match winners - Angelo Mathews!

Born on a day like this 1987, he started his school cricket career at St. Joseph's College and (not so) fun fact - suffered his first hamstring injury during the sports meet as a 16 year old (as how the author's cricket coach and former Josephian teammate till 2004 recalls during his schooldays as Angelo was also a Hurdler).

Angelo with a few future team mates in Sri Lanka Cricket

After leading the country at the U19 World Cup in 2006, he knocked on the national doors at the age of 21 and under the guidance of the players we once loved from over a decade back, he showed a lot of promise to become a future captain and by 26, he became Sri Lanka's Test captain.

Staring at defeat with a straight face and a bat

Of all the magic moments Angelo has pulled off out of nowhere, here are some of the most cherished moments that were chosen from a few answers submitted to us by the followers last week.

1.) The MCG Miracle

2.) 'That Opening Spell Against West Indies'

3.) 'THAT BOUNDARY EFFORT!!!'

4.) 'His 160 at Headingly'

5.) 'That match against Pakistan before the rain!'

As much as you enjoyed watching the line up of videos, these memories are without a doubt the best performances by Angelo for winning causes, displaying his exceptional all round and finisher skills where even statistics alone are unable to paint a picture of how much of an exceptional player he used to be!

Closing the curtains

Starting as an all-rounder but now turned a specialist batter, he's scored over 8000 runs in Test Cricket, only below Sanga and Mahela, and 15,000 runs overall. He also holds the record for the most sixes hit in Test Cricket for Sri Lanka (89).

In his other departments, he has taken 204 wickets and has held on to 157 catches. A finisher in his prime, but often missed many matches due to recurring injuries, he's also considered the biggest 'what if?' player considering the potential he had with his all round capabilities and not been able to give it his all post recovery.

A long standing servant to cricket for 17 years

Although some of his most memorable moments are a distant memory and very recently announced his retirement from Test Cricket late this month, there is certainly something to cherish from his good days and he deserves a grand send off although his future with whiteball cricket, the one he was best known for, is uncertain.

Here's to wishing Angelo Mathews on his 38th birthday and see you in another article leading up to his retirement from the long format!