Sadeera Samarawickrama‘s greatest innings in his first eight Test innings, back in 2017, were two thirty-plus. There was definitely potential there; his debut innings, a brilliant 38 off 35 balls in a Test that Sri Lanka won in Dubai, was particularly strong.
Then, though, he traveled to India, which is a difficult country for a 22-year-old batter to tour, and scored 23, 0, 13, 0, 33, and 5. Although he was benched, he has remained on the team’s outskirts ever since.
He is now back in the game as a wicketkeeper-batter and recently scored an undefeated hundred against Ireland in Galle, which was apparently a far simpler task than facing Pakistan or India in the UAE or India at home.
Sri Lanka’s top order had already put them on track for a high total before he scored 104 not out off just 114 balls. Samarawickrama, though, performed as expected. Following his debut in Test cricket, he claimed that the area of his game that required improvement was the mental side.
“I learned a lot from being dropped,” he said after the second day. “I was about 22 when I played three Tests against India, and they are the best team in the world. I wasn’t able to do much in those matches, but I did learn from them. And what I learned there I brought here. I learned a lot about what’s required at the top level. I tried to work on those things in the domestic competitions.
“I worked very hard on my batting. I batted in a lot of different spots in domestic cricket, the A team, and in provincial cricket. I think the biggest change is mental. I worked really hard on what I need to be doing and what I need to be thinking, and how to handle various situations.”
Samarawickrama’s decision to bat at No. 8 is a unique one for him because he normally bats in the top order even when he is the wicketkeeper but was originally supposed to bat at No. 7 against Ireland.
“This is the first time I was [to be] batting No. 7. Although I’d batted in many other spots, I hadn’t batted in this position. Because we sent a nightwatchman out, I slipped down one more place – to No. 8. There was a bit of nervousness. But because I was positive in the middle, that went away quickly. Because I’d planned on how I’d build my innings, it became easier for me.”
In just 217 balls, he and Dinesh Chandimal put together an unbroken partnership worth 183 runs. Soon after both batters reached triple digits, Sri Lanka made its declaration. A large total became enormous as a result of their stand.
“I’ve batted a lot with Chandi aiya in various teams,”
Samarawickrama said.
“The wicket was a little tougher to bat on today than yesterday because it had got older. I tried to bat positively and hit the loose balls, because I knew we’d be declaring today. I have to think about the team as well as my milestones. I tried to get those runs quickly and get the team to a stable place.
“Ireland had been in the field a lot and what we talked about was to wait for the loose balls, and how to make the best use of that. Because we were positive, we were able to attack the bad ones. We got a lot of runs that way.”