da brwin： He looked set to slip quietly into retirement; an unsatisfactory end forsuch a great cricketer
da blaze casino： Rex Clementine25-Apr-2002He looked set to slip quietly into retirement; an unsatisfactory end forsuch a great cricketer. But after more than a year on the sidelines,Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s highest run scorer in both forms of the game,returns to the international frame, and, perhaps appropriately, England isthe location of probably his last hurrah.For some the return of the 36 year old may seem strange; after all, SriLanka have won their last nine Test matches without him. But winning at homeis far removed from success abroad. The selectors know that playing inEngland during early summer will be an entirely different challenge and DeSilva’s experience, gleaned from numerous tours and two seasons with Kent,makes him potentially invaluable.In January he was pulled to one side by Michael Tissera, a former Sri Lankacaptain and newly appointed chairman of selectors. It was the firstcommunication between a selector and De Silva for nearly nine months.Tissera offered him hope of an international recall, but he had to shedweight, return to domestic cricket and prove his fitness.”When the selectors approached me I hadn’t been playing cricket for close toa year,” says De Silva. “It’s no surprise that when you are out of the gamefor that long you put up weight and become a little rusty. The selectioncommittee met me and gave me a time frame.”Like many greats, De Silva has never shown a great appetite for the gym andtreadmill, but before long the rumours were floating through Colombo’scricketing grapevine. “De Silva’s serious about getting fit, we’ve seen himtraining like never before,” said idle men talking at club bars. De Silva isalmost smug when he announces: “During the past three months I’ve shed 11kilos.”Needless to say he was delighted when he was finally selected: “I’m reallyhappy to be in the side for the English tour and very much looking forwardfor the challenge. I love touring England. It’s my second home.”The 89-match veteran claims to be as enthusiastic as when he stepped intothe side at Lords exactly 18 long years ago: “There’s no pressure on me atall, I’m playing international cricket after an absence of one year and Ijust want to go there and give a shot. I like to think this as my firsttour. I started off in England in way back in 1984, I enjoyed that tour verymuch and want to go and enjoy this outing as well.”De Silva had all but given up hope of playing for Sri Lanka again: “To behonest with you I basically had given up everything at the start of thisyear. The selectors didn’t speak to me and wouldn’t tell me why I was leftout after England’s last tour when I had scored a hundred in Galle and wassecond in the averages.”He’s under no illusions as to the enormity of the task ahead for Sri Lanka,but he believes the tourists can win: “I think we can beat them if we playto our full potential, but it’ll be tough. We’ve got to play extremely well.Last time when we played there the conditions suited our type of cricket,but this time the wickets will be fresh and the weather will help the ballmove around, making batting very difficult. But on the other side of thecoin, our seam bowlers will love bowling there.”He’s also got tremendous amount of respect for the English side: “They haveimproved in the last couple of years. Now most of those players areexperienced. Graham Thorpe will be the man to look for. They’ve got a decentbatting line up, despite the retirement of Atherton, and also a decent seambowling attack.He’s looking forward to reliving fond memories: “The season I spent withKent in 1995 was really special for me. I’ve also had many memorable knocksthere, including a century against Wasim Akram’s Lancashire in the Bensonand Hedges final at Lords plus the 150 that helped us to beat England at theOval four years ago.”He’s giving few clues as to his plans after the tour, although one suspectshe would grab at a chance to leave the game on a high: “I haven’t stilldecided although a lot of people are asking me that question. It all dependson how I feel and what I want to do. So I’ll just wait and see.”
