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Angelo Mathews joins a select band of cricketers who have appeared in 100 Tests for their country
In an age when white ball cricket (T20 and ODI) is threatening to dominate the cricket calendar confining the more established game like Test cricket to the side lines, playing 100 Test matches becomes a truly remarkable feat.
One of the modern greats of the game, Angelo Mathews will become the sixth cricketer from Sri Lanka to achieve this unique honour when he walks onto the field in the second Test against Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium tomorrow.
Incidentally, 35-year-old Mathews made his Test debut at the same venue and against the same opposition 13 years ago on 4 July 2009. What a coincidence.
South Africa’s Hashim Amla was the last cricketer to play a century of Tests in 2019. The last cricketer from Sri Lanka to do so was Kumar Sangakkara seven years ago. Overall, Mathews becomes the 72nd cricketer in the world to achieve this feat.
The former captain of Sri Lanka took time off to speak to Daily FT.
Q: How does it feel to represent your country in 100 Test matches?
I am extremely honoured and privileged to represent my country in 100 Tests. Not many people have done it. Playing one Test for your country is itself a big occasion, playing 100 is a humongous achievement for me. I remember very well just like today, making my debut in 2009 against Pakistan and my 100th, also against Pakistan at the same venue. I consider myself extremely lucky.
Q: Did you foresee playing 100 tests when you made your debut?
To be very honest you never think of those things, you only take one game at a time. Every game is as important as the last one and you try to make the most of it. You try to represent your country for as long as possible.
I never thought that I would be able to withstand so many injuries that occurred during the past 14 years. Halfway through my career I would never have thought of playing 100 Tests. God has been extremely kind.
Q: What has playing Test cricket taught you?
It taught me everything in life, and so many other things on and off the field. Test cricket itself is the ultimate format. If you ask most of the cricketer’s they will say that Test cricket is no. 1 because it tests your physical and mental skills, your temperament.
Q: What are the highs and lows in your Test career?
Winning a series in England for the first time and creating history (2015) and then the 3-0 whitewash of Australia (2016) were the highlights of my career. I was lucky enough to be the captain of those teams.
The low was losing the ODI series to Zimbabwe (3-2) at home and that made me take the decision to step down as captain. But when you look back, cricket is a sport which teaches most of the things in life and I am fortunate to be a student of this fantastic game.
Q: Is there anything that you regret not being able to achieve?
With the amount of injuries, I missed a lot of games. As a batsman, scoring 10,000 runs (presently 6876) is one of the goals that I wanted to achieve. I still believe and to be realistic if I play for the next few years, I may get to it.
Q: Would you take the 10,000 runs as a target you would want to aim at till your retirement?
Yes, absolutely. It all depends on form and fitness, that will be my ultimate goal. If I can achieve that I will be doing justice to my skill and hard work.
Q: Being part of the Sri Lanka team for 13 years, what are the changes you see that have taken place?
So many from the time I started playing with the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas, Sanga, Mahela, Murali, Malinga. When you play with those legends you learn a lot of things. You see all the changes happening in terms of attitude, how you respond to decisions, from personnel to how you take on the game, how you approach it.
We got a young team barring Dimuth, Chandimal and a few guys who have played for more than 10 years. Others are quite young and they have a lot of cricket left in them. I still learn from them every day even after playing for 13 years. We are all open to learning even from the youngsters. I have seen everything and I am more than happy to share my experiences with the youngsters. Currently, we are playing some really good cricket. Even though we lost the last game to Pakistan, they played some fantastic cricket to beat us. Overall, we have done very well over the last six months to a year.
Q: What does Sri Lanka need to do to become a force in international cricket?
The most important thing that I am seeing with the current team is the fight. You saw how we came back against the Aussies, and how we played in Bangladesh. We are capable of taking on the giants of cricket even though we are going through an interim period.
We got some young inexperienced players in the team, but with the combination of the seniors and the inexperienced players we are building up very well and we are competing. That’s the most important thing.
Q: What is the best cricket advice you have got?
It Is to trust your skill and ability. If and when you go out there to the middle it will let your performance speak for itself. If you are putting the hard yards off the field, the results will take care of itself. I am really proud to say that I’ve trusted my skill, trusted my ability, it is one of the things that I’ve learnt and experienced over my career.
Q: How would you like to end your Test career?
I have 10,000 runs in mind. I still feel it is still realistic if I keep fit and if I perform. I still have the hunger and the drive to carry on for a few more years. It’s an honour to represent my country in whatever format.
Q: You almost retired from cricket last year over the player-contract issue. Did you think your career was over then?
Not really. That is something that has kept me going as a player, as a cricketer and as a person. Situations will come and go and things will happen but as a player you shouldn’t give in to any of this unless you think you’ve had enough. No one else will influence me to retire or to give up.
There are so many things that have happened over the last 13 years and one thing that I have understood is that those are all temporary. If you trust in yourself and your skill then everything will fall in line.
Q: Do you regret not playing white ball cricket?
Not really. I am still available for selection. I haven’t retired. There is a 2023 world cup coming up, if I am keeping fit and I am in form I would like to represent my country in that and try and win a world cup in a 50-over format. I was part of the T20 world cup winning team in 2014, to win a Test championship and a 50-over world cup is also my dream.
