Published on: Sep 14, 2018 2:54 pm IST|Updated on: Sep 14, 2018 2:54 pm IST
Angelo Matthews (Sri Lankan Cricketer)
The youngest Sri Lankan to lead his side, Angelo Matthews for his precocious talent and a calm demeanour has been a vital cog of Sri Lanka’s fledgeling side for a better part of the last ten years.
Matthews made all the right noises in the debut First-Class season back in 2007-08 as he racked up 696 runs at an average of 58 for the Colts and was eventually drafted in the senior side against Zimbabwe in the same year.
One of the many qualities of Matthews over the years is his ability to adapt to adverse situations; his astounding 77 not-out to take Sri Lanks out from a hopeless situation of 8-107 in pursuit of Australia’s 239 or his match0winning hundred against Leads to hand Sri Lanka a famous series win on the English isles bore testimony to the aforementioned fact.
With the likes of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara retiring, Sri Lankan cricket experiences a downward spiral post the 2015 World Cup. Things came to a head when the island nation lost the ODI series to Zimbabwe (2-3) forcing Matthews to give up the captaincy.
However, after playing musical chairs with the leadership position and Sri Lanka floundered to the eight spot in ICC ODI rankings, Matthews was re-appointed as skipper and is currently leading the side in Asia Cup in the UAE.