Newspapers in New Zealand called Sri Lanka’s comprehensive ten wicket win in Galle last week ‘The Herath show’. The left-arm spinner finished with 11 wickets, the best bowling performance in New Zealand – Sri Lanka Test Matches that runs back to more than three decades. The 11 wickets he took also made Herath the highest wicket taker in the year 2012.

His other match bag of ten wickets also came this year – against England when he picked up career best figures of 12 for 171, also in Galle to help Sri Lanka win the first Test by 75 runs. This year Herath has taken 46 wickets in seven Tests, one more than England’s Graeme Swann, who has taken 45 in 12 Tests. Both players have three more Tests each this year to fight for the top rank.

While Swann will be playing the remaining three Tests on the spinning tracks of India, Herath will play one Test at home while the remaining two will be in Australia. A good show there will ensure Sri Lanka’s dream of that elusive Test win down under. Herath incidentally was Man of the Match when Sri Lanka recorded their first ever win on South African soil last year, where he took nine wickets.

For more than ten years, Herath lived in the shadows of Muttiah Muralitharan. He made his Test debut in 1999, also in Galle, but opportunities were few and rare as Muralitharan was the premier bowler in the team. Even when Sri Lanka were looking at the option of playing a second spinner, on most occasions the option of left-arm spin of Herath was turned down as the team had Sanath Jayasuriya, who was an accomplished left-arm spinner himself.

There were opportunities for Herath elsewhere. He was featuring in county and league cricket in England while taking heaps of wickets for Moors SC, his club for several seasons. When he departed to England to play league cricket in the summer of 2009, he was no where near a recall to the national side as other young spinners like Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv had emerged. But just in case Herath had informed the selectors his whereabouts and contact details before leaving to England.

With Kumar Sangakkara about to captain his first Test Match in 2009 September, Muralitharan was injured and with Pakistan having a perceived weakness against left-arm spin bowling, it was suggested to draft in Herath to the squad. The selectors called up Herath in England and he was told to report back home immediately and after arriving less than 24 hours before the Test in Colombo, Herath bowled Sri Lanka to a stunning victory and since then he has not only managed to hold onto his place, but emerged as the top Sri Lankan bowler.

To his credit, Herath also has featured in the shorter versions of the game since his comeback. But at times he has not been treated fairly. Herath bowled Sri Lanka to victory in the World T-20 semi-final against Pakistan, but surprisingly he was left out of the side for the final. No one so far has given a decent explanation as to why that was done.

Herath is now 34 and he has 165 Test wickets in 41 Tests, only Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets in 132 Tests) and Chaminda Vaas (355 Test wickets in 111 Tests) have taken more than him. He says he has no targets as to what he wants to achieve before he quits. All what he says is ‘a few more Test wins would be nice’. And Sri Lanka need him desperately too to do well in Test Matches. In a country obsessed with mystery bowlers, what Herath has proved is that nothing is impossible with perseverance.

Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)