Thilan Samaraweera      

As an offspinner, Thilan Samaraweera lived in the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan during the early days, only sporadically playing in one-day matches. But since scoring a Test century on debut against India in August 2001, an innings that helped Sri Lanka to a 2-1 series win, he has carved out a reputation as a specialist Test batsman. However, he will also be remembered as a player who took a bullet during the Lahore terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus early in 2009.

An adhesive and well-organised player, he took a particular liking to his home ground, the SSC in Colombo, where he scored three centuries in his first six Tests. With the departure of Aravinda de Silva and ...

As an offspinner, Thilan Samaraweera lived in the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan during the early days, only sporadically playing in one-day matches. But since scoring a Test century on debut against India in August 2001, an innings that helped Sri Lanka to a 2-1 series win, he has carved out a reputation as a specialist Test batsman. However, he will also be remembered as a player who took a bullet during the Lahore terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus early in 2009.

An adhesive and well-organised player, he took a particular liking to his home ground, the SSC in Colombo, where he scored three centuries in his first six Tests. With the departure of Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne from the side, he has cemented his place in the middle order, where his patient and no-risks approach provides a useful counterpoint to his more flamboyant colleagues. Samaraweera has also impressed while leading the A team. Opportunities in the one-day team have been limited and he has been branded a Test specialist by the selectors.

His steady off-spin is rarely used now, although he has a developing reputation as a partnership-breaker and clearly has the talent to become a more-than-useful support bowler. Inconsistent performances through 2006 resulted in him being dropped after the tour of England. He announced his comeback on the tour of West Indies which followed, making a century and a fifty. He had a successful 2008 in Tests, averaging 72.75 in six matches. and2009 began in the same vein, as he scored a double-century in the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi and followed that up with a another in the first innings in Lahore. However, everything came to a shuddering halt when he was the most seriously injured player from the terror attack that hit the Sri Lanka team in Lahore. A bullet lodged in his leg, but thankfully the damage wasn't career-ending.
Charlie Austin June 2009