Jayawardene - a class act

[pasag]

Yep. There's little point in even having player/captain interviews if you're just going to get the same stock-standard responses. What gets me is that it's the same media that portrays people like Ponting and McGrath as the one that asks them the questions they answer. What is actually expected of them? To lie?

And before someone accuses me of bias or what have you, I said the same thing when Australians accused Graeme Smith and the touring South Africans of arrogance. Smith is confident in his team, backs his players and speaks truthfully when asked questions about the opposition. Have to respect that.

Spot on. I've begrudgingly found quite abit of respect for Smith recently, something I didn't think was ever possible.

[Johnners]

Yep, Jayawardene is one of my favourite non Australia players and i have an enourmous respect for him.

[Ikki]

Spot on. I've begrudgingly found quite abit of respect for Smith recently, something I didn't think was ever possible.

On that note, it is nice (is that the right word?) to see a team want to beat Australia and have confidence in themselves going and trying to do it. Unfortunately, one or two comments from both sides make these match-ups - referring to Aus V SA - silly with their childish banter.

Whenever a captain says something like: "we've got a talented squad and we're going to show we can beat the best", when they're going to play Australia, I always like that. But as soon a cricketer makes that kind of comment, we have the media trying to instigate a fight with the kind of questions they ask to the Aussies in reply..."Hey Ricky, did you hear Smith said this...".

The Aussies are so dominant these days that banter between the teams gets more notice because the game is usually headed one way - an Aussie victory. But I think the banter between teams is an indication of confidence. A team that puts it's 'word' on the line has it's pride to play for - do not underestimate the importance of pride. Pride is that which transforms the greats into legends.

In regards to the thread, I think if Ponting were in Jayawardene's place we would be hearing a lot more whining. Someone stated that this is a trait of a shrewed captain, maybe, but I'm sure it is the definition of a shrewed captain. I think Mahela has got it in other places.

[Pratters]

He is has shown very good captaincy skills so far and has been innovative. Those two aspects alone are a revelation because you do not see a lot of intellegence every day on the cricket field. Add to it, he carries himself brilliantly. He also has such a cool head on his shoulders. Once they lost the final, you saw all the Sri Lankans stand in the dressing room and applaud the opponents instantly. That impresses me most about Jayawardene and his team. To carry yourself like a sportsman when things are going your way is not difficult. But to do the same when it is not is the acid test. Applauding opponents after losing is a quality I admire highly in sportspersons and sports teams. I hope the team goes from strength. All the best Sri Lanka.

[R_D]

Just how this SL team respect the oppositions is enough for me to have tremendous respect for them. Soft-spoken, yet on the field, they're all action and no rubbish.
While more captains around the wolrd are becoming the "all-talk-and-rubbish-play" kind, it is Mahela alone who I see different from the rest.

Let me bar Ponting or any Aussie captain from the "all-talk-andrubbish-play" kind becuase I think the Aussies are the only team who deserve to talk as much as they do, because they talk, and they prove their worth!

That being said, I couldn't be any happier to have Sri Lanka be the other finalist instead of any other team.....thoroughly professional and deservant of the spot !

IMO, this is how the ICC team rankings should stand for 2007:

1. Australia
2. Sri Lanka <-----The position they should hold!
3. New Zealand
4. South Africa
5. West Indies
6. England
7. Pakistan
8. Bangladesh
9. India
10. Ireland
11. Kenya
12. Zimbabwe

Don't know why i'm even responding but it'll alot more than just 2 wins for Bangladesh to be rated ahead of india.

Jayawardne has always been my favourite Sri Lankan player since he made his 1st ODI century in Aus chasing 301 against Eng. He's a class act and hopefully he'll be a successful captain as well

[Richard]

This is what annoys me more than anything. What did you expect him to say ffs? That they expected to lose a Test? Has there ever been an Australian in recent times especially with this side that ever expected to lose a Test going in. No. Therefore he was just being honest about it. and if your problem is that people are honest about things, then the issue isn't with them, it's with you. But I suppose you're trolling again and all.

Couldn't agree more, annoyed the heck out of me when virtually our entire press-pack jumped on him before the most recent series.

[Burgey]

In regards to the thread, I think if Ponting were in Jayawardene's place we would be hearing a lot more whining. Someone stated that this is a trait of a shrewed captain, maybe, but I'm sure it is the definition of a shrewed captain. I think Mahela has got it in other places.

Don't think that's fair, tbh. If you look at his comments post-Ashes 05 he acknowledged that England had outplayed Aus and that they would have to go away and work hard to reverse things. He gave full credit to them, then went away, worked hard - and the rest, as they say......

[Burgey]

Take for example the Final, if Ranatunga was SL Captain...he would've made sure the game started an hour earlier than it did...he would've snapped at Umpires and referee regarding the number of overs they cramped in despite the time lost and he would've ensured his Team did not suffer adversely during Rain during play etc...

So IMHO, Mahela is a nice guy, very polite and all that...But he is not a savvy or shrewd Captain in the Ranatunga /Ponting Mould... And I am starting to think someone like Sangakkara has that ability more than Mahela...as much as I like Mahela , after the Final, I think SL needs a loud , sharp and Savvy Captain , not a friendly polite , yes man.

Jason,

You're not suggesting that the rain cost them the game, are you?

But I see your point re Arjuna - he was fun to watch back then. Only thing I'll say against him was the incident with Emerson at Adelaide was very, very ugly - telling him where to stand, etc. But, even that is funny now, when you look back at it.

[Richard]

Haha. IMO Emerson deserved all the derision he got. Worst Umpire in history.

[SJS]

It's amazing how much better he is than Ranatunga. Ranatungas side was one of the worst side of sportsmen in living history, and he trained them to be that way.

Incredible !!