11000 runs at 33: How good is Jayawardene the ODI batsman?

There are just eight batsmen, including Mahela Jayawardene, who have scored more than 11000 runs in ODI cricket. So when the Sri Lankan skipper got to the landmark against Australia last night, it was clearly not an achievement to be scoffed at. The record as it stands is: 394 matches, 11022 runs, average of 33.40, 15 centuries, 69 half-centuries. An impressive record but the average of just 33 makes you wonder just how good he is as an ODI batsman. To put things into perspective, Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record stands at: 463 matches, 18426 runs, average of 44.83, 49 centuries, 96 half-centuries. Mahela’s quality as a Test batsman – much like Virender Sehwag – is unquestioned but as an ODI batsman, would it be right to say that he has underachieved? There are certain numbers that one has to bring into focus before one jumps into the argument: When Jayawardene opens the batting, his average jumps to 43.44. When Sri Lanka win, Jayawardene’s average is 43.33. When they lose, it drops to 23.77. Under Kumara Sangakkara’s captaincy (42 matches), he averaged 40.61. [caption id=“attachment_882991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mahela needs to open the innings against India. Getty Images[/caption] So clearly, he could have done even better as an ODI batsman but that is why in Jayawardene’s story, numbers don’t quite do justice to his role. Jayawardene, along with Sangakkara, has been the pillar that has kept Sri Lanka competitive even when times have been tough. He has been the facilitator – the sane voice in the madness that Sri Lankan cricket is to the outsider. He talks sense and that’s always hard to come by. Perhaps, somewhere he was weighed down by the idea of trying to buff up a batting line-up that never quite seemed to play to its potential. At various times, Sri Lanka’s ODI bowling line-up was simply stunning, take the 2007 World Cup for example: Chaminda Vaas, Muthaih Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya. Great variety and class. But the Sri Lankan batting never quite managed to attain the same heights. There was talent no doubt but no one every seemed to challenge Sangakkara or Mahela as the top batsmen – as Virat Kohli or Cheteshwar Pujara have done in India. Sangakkara and Mahela pulled the strings, they made it somehow come together and they still do that. So when they failed, invariably, Sri Lanka failed too. And it is through that prism that Jayawardene’s performances need to be seen. Too often he has tried to make the others around him better but now, in perhaps his last Champions Trophy, he needs to become a little selfish. India is an opposition that he knows well – he has played 77 times against them, the most against any team during the course of his career – and he needs to take the leap of faith in the semi-finals against Dhoni’s side. He needs to move back up the order – he needs to open the batting. His highest ODI score – 144 – has come as opener and even though his unbeaten 84 against Australia in the last league match was invaluable, Sri Lanka will be best served with him at the top of the order. Sangakkara and others can take care of the middle-order but Mahela needs to set the tone of the innings as only he can. For once, he needs to go out and show us the ODI batsman he really could have been. The 11000 runs are a sign of all that he’s done for Sri Lankan cricket – but now it’s time to go out and inspire them to win a big one.