Manchester, August 21
As Sri Lanka gear up for their three-match Test series in England, veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews is drawing on past experiences to inspire his teammates. Mathews, along with Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne, was part of the squad that won a Test series in England back in 2014.
As one of the few players who were involved in that historic series, Mathews has been sharing memories with the current squad to boost morale.
"Yes, absolutely. We've been sharing about 2014, because it gives us hopes. We can say, 'Yes, we've done it before, and we can do it again.' Now the team is different and the team we're playing is different, but it's been done before. If we play to our potential in this series, we can beat them again," Mathews said.
Reflecting on his career, Mathews, who has been a key player for Sri Lanka across all formats, recalled the demanding schedule he faced in 2014.
That year, he played in every format and bowled extensively, which eventually led to injuries. However, Mathews harbours no regrets about the workload he took on.
"I'm extremely honoured to play any game for Sri Lanka. Ten years ago I was 27 and I wanted to play every single game - not that that's not the case now. But the amount of cricket we play now is a lot. When you age you have to manage your workload. Back then I didn't even think of workloads. I just wanted to play for my country in any format, and try to win every single game, with the bat or the ball. Maybe that led to injuries, but I have no regrets. I got injured while playing for my country," Mathews said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
As for the upcoming series, Mathews has been preparing to contribute with the ball, although he admits he is not fully match-ready in terms of his bowling. Since the Lanka Premier League (LPL), Mathews has not bowled much, but he remains hopeful of making an impact.
"I'm pretty much undercooked with my bowling. Since the LPL, I haven't been bowling that much. I have been preparing myself a bit to bowl. Even in these conditions it's not easy to walk into the field and start bowling, and I haven't had much bowling under my belt for a while. Let's hope I will bowl," Mathews said.
England has been a fruitful hunting ground for Mathews in the past, and he holds fond memories of some of his best bowling performances there. He recalls with pride his spell in the 2009 T20 World Cup semi-final where he took three wickets in the first over to help secure victory, and his match-winning contribution against the West Indies in the 2019 ODI World Cup after an extended layoff from bowling.
"I haven't got a lot of pace, but I land it on the spot most of the time, so that gives me an opportunity to get wickets in a place like England. Looking back, even in the 2009 T20 World Cup semi-final, I got those three wickets in the first over and helped my team to victory and then in the 2019 ODI World Cup against West Indies, I hadn't bowled for about eight months, but I used my experience to get the team over the line. I do have fond memories bowling in England," he reflected.