Mahela Jayawardene has come of age. He appears to be one of those rare characters who flourish with the responsibility (some would say burden) of captaincy. He pushed himself up the batting order to number 3 with success, where he could dictate the innings. More importantly, his players played with a confidence rarely seen in recent times, as they dismantled an injury plagued England.
In truth, the spirit of Sri Lanka's tour of England started when Jayawardene's doggedness at Lord's in the first Test stopped a certain England victory. His younger players must have witnessed his steely resolve, his quiet confidence, which would have rubbed off on them. From that moment on, Sri Lanka played better cricket which shows that they have a bright future.
After fantastic results of 1-1 (Tests) and 5-0 (ODIs), should Marvan Atapattu get back the captaincy once he recovers from his injury? I don't think so. Atapattu is 35, turning 36 this November, and it is time to pass the captaincy on to a younger, and very capable leader.
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