Goodbye Rangana Herath

The most prolific left-armed bowler in the history of Test cricket will play his final international when Sri Lanka play England at Galle on Tuesday.

Rangana Herath is set to play in his final Test, and in his final international match, when Sri Lanka take on England at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.

At a press conference on Monday, he said that it "was not an easy decision to take but I decided this was the right time to stop playing international cricket. When you retire from cricket, the game you love, of course it is a sad moment".

Since beginning his Test career in 1999, during much of which he had to toil in the shadow of the great Muttiah Muralitharan, the forty-year-old has taken more wickets than any other left-armed bowler. Ahead of his 93rd Test, he has taken 430 wickets at an average of 27.95 and has the second-highest number of Test wickets by a Sri Lankan bowler.

Keeping it as simple as possible has been the key to his success, and he explained that "I don't see any rocket science in it. If you look at any orthodox spinner like me, they always maintain the right line and length. I have a strong action, and you have a strong and smooth action, the line and length are easier to maintain. As a left-arm spinner, I'm also helped by natural variation. Over the last 15 to 20 years I have gained a lot of experience, and this helped me a lot in achieving my success". 

^{Rangana Herath}

That method caused England huge problems when they last played in Galle in 2012. The diminutive spinner took match figures of 12/171, taking five-wicket hauls in both innings and he only needs a single wicket to make it to 100 wickets at Galle alone. It would be a be a big achievement, but he has "never thought of the 100-wicket milestone at any stage. Over the last few months I've realised I was close, and if I can do it, it will be a remarkable achievement." 

Herath is the only man playing Test cricket who made their debut in the 90s, and he described how "at the start, we didn't have t20 cricket. Now we have more competitive cricket with more aggressive and skillful players. There are now fewer maiden overs in Test cricket because players are now playing more shots from one-day and t20 cricket".

With Sri Lanka's opponents England likely to feature a number of debutants, Herath is more than likely to bag himself at least a couple of wickets, and his retirement means Sri Lanka have lost another of their great players. However, Herath believes that "if you take this squad and the one-day squad, there is a lot of potential. If we can give them the right environment, with the right mental support, you will see good players in the future as well".

Irrespective of what the future holds for Sri Lanka, Herath has established himself as not only one of the greatest Sri Lankan cricketers of all time, but one of the greatest spinners of all time.