Cricket: Batting on confidence, not form: Maestro

Mahela Jayawarden

Ever wanted to ask all-round nice guy Mahela Jayawardene a spectrum of off-beat questions but could never corner him?

Well, don't fret because the Hereworth School cricketing pupils yesterday fired away at the batting maestro who drove them away like hitting balls during a throw down in the nets.

Did you know he cherishes his wickets more than he does his runs because he only snared six wickets in his illustrious international career for Sri Lanka?

"My two favourite wickets were Ross Taylor, caught bat/pad, and Andy Flower," the former international revealed yesterday.

Jayawardene told the pupils Australian seamer Mitchell Starc "is not too bad" and was "still learning" during this year's ICC World Cup but is more adept now.

"The toughest guy [bowler] I ever faced was Wasim Akram who was very talented and had a lot of skills, which I don't think a lot of other bowlers had."

The 38-year-old, who considers Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Jacque Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar among batting greats in his era, said the Ockers "aren't ruthless" but "very competitive".

The hottest place he's ever played in is Chennai, in the southern part of India, where he recalled 42C days but emphasised subcontinent nations often averaged 37C.

Jayawardene said it was "natural" for batsmen to be dismissed for low scores and there was no such thing as "bad form".

Confidence, he stressed, was the buzz word because resignation to "bad form" could leave batsmen in a mind swamp for a long time.

The prolific run scorer didn't engage in chit-chat with the opposition during play but "did try to get under their skin".

He told the youngsters not to think of the ball before or a six or boundary but to "stay in the present".

However, "everyone should be nervous in the dressing room".

"Butterflies in the stomach is natural but don't think of going out," he said before going to Lindsfarne College in Hastings.