Ajantha Mendis is one of the few Sri Lankan bowlers who can come away from the first Test match against England with any credit.
The reason for this is that he was largely ignored by the captain who seemed to favour other bowlers. However, Mendis is one of the few Sri Lankan bowlers who possesses the skill and the mystery to rip through not just England but any other side in the world.
What makes Mendis so difficult to play is the fact that he has a very unique bowling action. He has every single variety ball in the book for an unorthodox spinner and different ways of bowling them. This means a lot of batsmen find it difficult to watch the ball out of the hand and pick the delivery.
Mendis also has a ball which he flicks out the front of his hand which has become his trademark delivery. His bowling does not generate as much spin as someone like Graeme Swann from England but what it does do is confuse the batsman mentality and forces him to make a mistake.
Mendis is also much cleverer in terms of how he uses his pace and flight. He is not afraid to toss the ball up, bowl slowly or dart in a faster delivery that will be too quick for the batsman to react to because he will not be expecting it. Mendis is still only in his mid-twenties and in a few years he could be the leading spinner in world cricket.
His Test career to date covers a total of 16 matches which has generated a total of 62 wickets at an average of just over 32. He will want to pull this average down into the 20s which is something he can do if he is given the chance to do so.
The second Test match at Lords will be on a much drier and harder pitch than the first Test match at Cardiff. Lords doesn’t tend to spin until the final couple of days but the pitch stays hard which is where Mendis will come into the game.
When he loops the ball up he can generate quite a bit of bounce which brings wickets such as caught behind, caught at sip and caught off the pad into play. He is at his best when men are around the bat and he is given licence by the captain to go out and hunt for wickets and put players under pressure.
His Test career also includes three five wicket hauls and one ten wicket haul across an entire match. He has taken six wickets before in a Test match innings which is a great return for a spinner who cannot apparently turn the ball.
What a lot of people also tend to overlook is the fact that Mendis is following in the foot steps of one of the greatest spinners of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan. Murali took over 1000 wickets at international level across all formats which is hard to follow.
Mendis is 11/2 wit Sportingbet to be top bowler in this match. But before placing you bet remember to see what are the current Bookies Free Bets and get the best betting value as well as odds.
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