Sanath Teran Jayasuriya

Profile:

Sanath Jayasuriya, a mild mannered man, consensual leader and a gloriously uninhibited strokeplayer, is cricket's most famous Buddhist and Sri Lanka's most successful captain. Since taking charge in 1999 and harmonising the dressing room with his egalitarian leadership style, Sri Lanka have won 18 out of the 39 Tests and 59 of the 101 ODIs they have played. But Jayasuriya, when he eventually lays down his smoking Kookuburra blade, will be most fondly remembered for his destructive batting. Raised in the Southern fishing town of Matara, where his father worked for the Urban Council, he made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1990-91 before blasting his fame in the 1996 World Cup with a series of audacious early over assaults. He proved he was more than a one-day specialist with 340 against India in 1997-98, but lost form and confidence after becoming captain. However, in the past 18 months he's worked assiduously on his game and, at 33-years-old, he arrives in South Africa in the best form of his life.