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'Made my debut when he was at his peak. Was a nightmare to face him': Jayawardene names toughest bowler he has faced
Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene was one of the finest middle-order batters of his era. But he also faced some of the toughest fast bowlers cricket has ever produced, one of whom he has termed as the toughest he has over faced.
Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene was one of the finest middle-order batters of his era. Along with Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting, Jayawardene was arguably one of the top three No. 3 batters of his time. He faced some of the toughest fast bowlers cricket has ever produced. From Allan Donald to Glenn McGrath, Jayawardene was tested against the best of the pacers of the late 1990s and 2000s.
However, if there is one bowler whom Jayawardene had a tough time facing was the legendary Wasim Akram. The former Pakistan captain was at the top of his game in the year 1997 when Jayawardene made his international debut in 1997. By then, Akram has strongly established himself as one of the best fast bowlers going around, if not the greatest and was giving a tough time to the batters with his reverse-swing, something that has a legend of its own.
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"Hands down, Wasim Akram. I made my debut when he [Akram] was at his peak or the backend of his career. It was a nightmare to face him as it was tough because he is challenging you with the new ball, he is coming with the old ball. It doesn't matter what format it is. It was 4 PM in the afternoon of the second day of a Test and he is still going to beat your bat," Jayawardene said on the ICC Review Show.
Jayawardene pointed out two particular traits that made batting against Akram tough. One was his quick-arm action, which foxed many a batter, and the other was Akram’s willingness to try out different angles. In fact, Akram was the first left-arm pacer to make coming round the wicket to the right hander famous. With his in-dipper and reverse swing, Akram's vicious inswingers have knocked over several stumps.
"He was a tough, tough bowler to face. He had a really quick-arm action through the crease as well and it was tough to get into that rhythm, that tempo of your movement. And then he used to come round the wicket, over the wicket, create angles. He would make it swing with the old ball, new ball," mentioned Jayawardene.
