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Thilan Samaraweera

Sri Lanka

Full name Thilan Thusara Samaraweera

Born September 22, 1976, Colombo

Current age 32 years 293 days

Major teams Sri Lanka, Colts Cricket Club, Kandurata, Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka A

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Relation Brother - DP Samaraweera

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	50	77	11	3334	231	50.51	7188	46.38	9	18	392	1	33
ODIs	17	13	1	199	33	16.58	379	52.50	0	0	15	0	3
First-class	203	277	50	10780	231	47.48			27	55			168
List A	120	85	22	1677	81*	26.61			0	8			38
Twenty20	8	8	1	189	70	27.00	153	123.52	0	1	18	5	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	50	32	1291	679	14	4/49	6/67	48.50	3.15	92.2	1	0	0
ODIs	17	14	672	509	10	3/34	3/34	50.90	4.54	67.2	0	0	0
First-class	203		17458	8132	348	6/55		23.36	2.79	50.1		15	2
List A	120		4624	3061	108	7/30	7/30	28.34	3.97	42.8	0	2	0
Twenty20	8	2	44	37	3	3/17	3/17	12.33	5.04	14.6	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC), Aug 29-Sep 2, 2001 scorecard
Last Test	Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Galle, Jul 4-7, 2009 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Nov 6, 1998 scorecard
Last ODI	India v Sri Lanka at Vadodara, Nov 12, 2005 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut	1995/96
Last First-class	Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Galle, Jul 4-7, 2009 scorecard
List A debut	1995/96
Last List A	Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club v Sinhalese Sports Club at Colombo (PSS), Jan 28, 2009 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Burgher Recreation Club v Sinhalese Sports Club at Colombo (NCC), Aug 17, 2004 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Kandurata v Wayamba at Kurunegala, Apr 30, 2008 scorecard

Profile

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