Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka and England, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on October 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

Some cricketers never fade away. Fifteen years after his ODI debut, and with just three matches under his belt in the last two-and-a-half years, Angelo Mathews and his unwavering temperament are back.

The 36-year-old is in as an injury replacement for speedster Matheesha Pathirana and the 2023 edition of the World Cup will be his fourth for Sri Lanka. In a charming twist, the current skipper Kusal Mendis (standing-in for Dasun Shanaka) made his debut under Mathews in 2016.

Transformed man

“He’s evolved so much over the last five, six years,” Mathews said of Mendis, ahead of the encounter against England. “Now he’s showing his maturity [by] playing fearless cricket. I’ve played under so many different captains and they’ve also played under me. It’s a cycle. So playing under Kusal gives me pleasure.”

If Mathews makes the playing XI, his batting prowess and Mendis’ free-spiritedness will be crucial against England.

“It’s always a contest with the English. We know the brand of cricket they play and you got to be positive. If you take a backward step, they are going to jump on to you. You have to fight fire with fire.”

Not fading away

England’s Moeen Ali, on his part, hoped that the reigning ODI and T20 world champions’ competitive fire hadn’t been doused. “There are still a lot of players that can play for a long time,” the 36-year-old said when asked if this England side was on its last legs.

“There’s obviously a few of us who are a bit older, more than likely won’t make the next World Cup, but I don’t think it’s the end of anything. It could potentially be the start of something else.

“We’re still in the competition. We’ve got to win every game. But we know that we can do it.

“We’re obviously disappointed from the result [vs. South Africa]. Not just the result, but the way we played. But you’ve got to move on. Everything is a must-win and we’ve been in this position before, probably not to this degree. We have to get our confidence [back] and perform.”

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews and pacer Dushmantha Chameera will join Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad in Lucknow on Friday as travelling reserves, country’s cricket board announced on Thursday.

Both Mathews and Chameera last played in an ODI series against Afghanistan in June.

The 36-year-old Mathews is a veteran of 221 games with close to 6000 runs and 120 wickets under his belt. Of late, he has not bowled much and plays as a specialist batter only.

Right-arm pacer Chameera, 31, has played 44 ODIs taking 50 wickets. “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Angelo Mathews and Dushmantha Chameera will join the team in India as traveling reserves,” SLC posted on X.

“The Sri Lanka Cricket Selectors took this decision in order to ensure that the team has ready replacements in place to face contingencies, such as an injury to an existing squad member. Accordingly @Angelo69Mathews and @dushmantha05 will join the team tomorrow,” the board announced.

Sri Lanka next play is the Netherlands on October 21 in Lucknow.