8th February 1998

New kid on the field

He is the new kid on the block, the newest entrant to the Lankan cricket team. Sandrina Abeywardena meets Mahela Jayewardena

Sturdily built, he's soft spoken and reserved. At twenty, this young man has already been the focus of keen interest from a cricket-crazy nation.

Yet despite the attention, he remains down to earth and practical. Surprising for one so young.

A capable batsman, Mahela Jayawardene first made cricket lovers take note when in his debut test match against India he scored 66 not out, making an impressive entry to the national team. Incidentally in his first one day international against Zimbabwe, he scored the winning run off the first ball he faced. Yet he takes it all in his stride. The good news about his entry into the squad came during the three day test match against India when he was told that he was selected, to replace the injured Hashan Tillekaratne.

"My debut test match was in 1997, the record breaking one where we put up the highest Test score. Sanath, Mahanama, Aravinda all played very well, so when I went out to bat I was very nervous. Aravinda was my partner and he helped me a lot and encouraged me. Everyone contributed to the record breaking scored of 952 so I can say that I was very happy to have been in the team and taken part in it. It was a great experience," said Mahela.

Although Mahela became a household name just over an year ago, he has been interested in cricket since he was a mischievous 5 year old and remarkably joined the NCC when he was 8 years old under the guidance of Mr. Lionel Mendis. His family was always supportive and his ambition was to play for Sri Lanka one day, he says.

A product of Nalanda College Mahela began playing for the school under 13 and under 15 teams and quickly went on to play for the 19 school team when he was just 14 years old. In1996, a 19 year old Mahela started playing for SSC. With his 21st birthday coming up on the 27th of May he hopes that he would be able to couple it with a entry into the national side and celebrate it in true style.

Says Mahela, "The team is like a family to me, I'm very comfortable among them, they're all very close and friendly. I don't have any special friends as such because I'm friendly with everyone but I do hang around with Vaas and Murali."

His ultimate goal is to play for the national team as long as he can. "That's my wish but I don't really know what will happen. As I'm working at Seylan Bank, if I find the time I'll do my banking exams and pursue banking as my career but right now, with things the way they are , all I want to do is concentrate on my cricket."

Life apart from cricket for Mahela is, is just like it is for any other guy his age, he says. His hobbies include watching TV, listening to pop music and reading newspapers. Spending time with his family and going out with his friends also count. So has life changed drastically for him after getting into the national team? "Not really. When I have some free time I spend it with my friends. People whom I can trust, who are faithful and who won't stab you in the back are those whom I consider as my friends. I have less spare time now and sometimes you miss out on certain things but the outcome is good so you shouldn't regret it. You have to learn to make sacrifices but it's worth it in the end," he adds.

Commenting on the people whom he admires, he states that there are quite a few, among them Arjuna, Sanath, Aravinda, as well as several international cricketers. "You can learn a lot from them, especially how they handle themselves and deal with situations. But I don't believe in copying their techniques because each person has to develop his own unique style."

Despite his recent success at such a young age, life had not always been kind to him. Coping with his younger brother's death, his only sibling, was he says, a harrowing experience for him and his parents. His younger brother had also been a cricketer in the school team. It had taken encouragement and help from loyal friends, teachers and coaches to help him deal with the trauma. "I was very close to my brother. He passed away in 1995 due to an illness. At that time I was captaining the school team but for some time I nearly gave up cricket, and couldn't concentrate on my studies. Everyone was very understanding and kind and helped me a lot to come to terms. After his death. I felt I couldn't disappoint my parents. I'm all they have now, so I had to become more responsible. I asked them whether they wished me to concentrate on my studies or cricket. They gave me the freedom of choice, and I chose cricket. Although I've learnt to accept my brother's death it changed my whole outlook on life," he said.

Playing cricket since he was a kid, there has been a lot to learn and gain. The experiences in life, the disappointment have all helped to mould him into a determined young man. "There is fierce competition, a lot of hard work involved and you have to fight for a place. But I wouldn't be in here if not for the help given by people like Lionel Mendis, Leslie Narangoda, Jayantha Seneviratne, Bandula Warnapura, Hemal Mendis and Chandrasiri Weerasinghe. I'm very I grateful for all the help they have given me."

Mahela says he is unaware of the flock of admirers he has. Although he admits that he does get fan mail, most of them write stating their disappointment, when he does not reply. "But frankly I don't have the time to reply and sometimes my mother writes to them and explains," he says, smilingly remarking that he had to get his telephone number changed after receiving a flood of phone calls. "I had to learn how to deal with it."

So with all the female attention hasn't he found someone special? "No," he says laughing. Well, what sort of a girl is he looking out for then? "Well, I'm still very young, I haven't really thought about it as yet. I know a lot of girls who are good friends but that's about it." He adds after some thought, " The kind of girl I would like should be understanding, caring and should want to be with me always."

Mahela who has a very close relationship with his family says that his father is someone whom he admires and looks up to. "I love my parents a lot. Without my parents I wouldn't have been able to come this far. They are very understanding, they give me the freedom to make my own choices and trust me a lot. I have no pressure from them and can be myself around them. Having that kind of a environment helps you a lot. I think every child needs that because it gives you a lot of self confidence," he said.

Commenting on his own character, he says that he is open and prefers people who are always direct with him. According to him, he has never got angry on the field and rarely loses his temper.

The year didn't start with a bang for this young man who enjoys going out with friends. Not being fortunate enough to secure a ticket for a 31st night dance as he was in India with the team, he was stuck outside a certain hotel, hoping that he would get a chance to buy a ticket to join his friends inside. That was not to be and finally a dejected Mahela went home. Yet things have worked out for him and the way his career's progressing, Mahela Jayewardena's not going to be disappointed long.

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