Lasith Malinga
Encyclopedia
Separamadu Lasith Malinga (Sinhala:සෙපරමාදු ලසිත් මාලිංග) (born August 28, 1983 in Galle
, Sri Lanka
) is a Sri Lankan cricket
er. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm
action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga". He is very well known for his swinging yorkers which has been known to smash batsmen's toes if they do not see it come out of his hand. Malinga can also swing the ball early on in a match and this is an advantage to him. He is well known for his ability to take consecutive wickets: he is the first and only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks, the first and only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs and he is also the first, and currently the only, player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of international cricket. On 22 April 2011, he announced his retirement from Test cricket.
, and always enjoyed cricket. He often played out with friends on the sand banks and coconut groves by a river in his cricket-obsessed village. He first had his education at Devapathiraja College
, Rathgama and then at Vidyaloka College
, Galle. Later he moved to Mahinda College
, Galle. Here he was discovered by former Sri Lankan paceman
Champaka Ramanayake
,who was so impressed by Malinga's raw ability that he invited him to join the Cricket Foundation of Sri Lanka. A short-lived attempt to make Malinga's action more upright led to much reduced pace and failing accuracy. Malinga promptly returned to his natural action with success, and with great encouragement from Champaka Ramanayake.
The cricket reference text Wisden
has noted that Malinga's delivery action is similar to "slinging". Malinga has said that his unique action was a result of learning to play cricket exclusively with a tennis ball
.
Typically, younger bowlers are encouraged to deliver the ball with their arm near vertical to remove or reduce direction variables.
Malinga's action has attracted great comment, but has never been formally questioned; he has not been reported or called for throwing.
He made his Test debut on the July 1–3, 2004, at Darwin
's Marrara Oval. He was immediately successful, taking 6 wickets in the match (Darren Lehmann
twice, Adam Gilchrist
, Damien Martyn
, Shane Warne
and Michael Kasprowicz
) He was impressed by the friendliness of the Australian team in general, and in particular Adam Gilchrist
who sought him out after the game to present him with one of the match stumps in the Sri Lankan dressing room.
He has developed into Sri Lanka's fastest Test bowler and a regular member of both their Test and One Day International sides. He has earned a reputation for troubling batsmen with his lively pace and well-directed bouncer
. He regularly bowls at speeds between 140 and 150 km/h (87 to 93 mph) and sometimes slightly faster. As time went by he started to lose pace clocking around 130 to 140 km/h. His slower off cutter was also menacing. He burst onto the test scene after ripping through the New Zealand top order, helping Sri Lanka draw the test series on their 2006/07 tour of New Zealand. He announced his retirement from Test cricket on 22 April 2011 in order to prolong his career in One-Day and T20 cricket.
. Since then he has become a regular member on the ODI squad.
During the Sri Lankan team's tour of New Zealand in 2004–2005, the New Zealand team found his action hard to play and the NZ captain, Stephen Fleming
asked the umpire
to change his belt and tie to a lighter colour so that they would be better able to see the ball being released from Malinga's hand. The umpire did not do so.
Malinga became a highlight during the 2007 Cricket World Cup
, when on March 28, 2007, against South Africa
he became the first ever player to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket. This was also only the fifth hat-trick
in World Cup history, the third ODI hat-trick for Sri Lanka and the 24th in all ODI history. Malinga's victims were Shaun Pollock
(bowled at 13), Andrew Hall
(caught by Upul Tharanga
at 0), Jacques Kallis
(caught by Kumar Sangakkara
at 86), and Makhaya Ntini
(bowled at 0). Despite Malinga's lethal spell, however, South Africa proceeded to win the match by 1 wicket with 10 balls still left.
During the 2011 Cricket World Cup
, Malinga took his second career hat-trick in Sri Lanka's group stage match against Kenya. This made him the first bowler to take two World Cup hat-tricks, and the fourth to take two hat-tricks in all One Day International cricket (alongside Wasim Akram
, Saqlain Mushtaq
and Chaminda Vaas
). In August 2011, he managed yet an other hat-trick against Australia.
in the fourth season, he got 5 wickets against Delhi Daredevils
restricting them to a mere 95. He had his best score of 5/13 in the game.
He won the Purple Cap award (most wickets) in the fourth season of Indian Premier League
with 28 scalps in 16 matches. Throughout the tournament, he led the Mumbai Indians attack from the front and was instrumental in many victories.
In the 2011 Champions League Twenty20
, he was the highest wicket taker in the tournament and won the golden wicket for this performance and won the award for the player of the tournament. Malinga also hit a lot of runs.
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) is a Sri Lankan cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm
Roundarm bowling
In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and had largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowler has his arm extended at about 90 degrees from his body at the point where he releases the ball...
action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga". He is very well known for his swinging yorkers which has been known to smash batsmen's toes if they do not see it come out of his hand. Malinga can also swing the ball early on in a match and this is an advantage to him. He is well known for his ability to take consecutive wickets: he is the first and only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks, the first and only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs and he is also the first, and currently the only, player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of international cricket. On 22 April 2011, he announced his retirement from Test cricket.
Early days
Malinga grew up in modest circumstances in RathgamaRathgama
Rathgama is a small coastal town situated in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka.-See also:*List of towns in Southern Province, Sri Lanka...
, and always enjoyed cricket. He often played out with friends on the sand banks and coconut groves by a river in his cricket-obsessed village. He first had his education at Devapathiraja College
Devapathiraja College
Devapathiraja College is a Sri Lankan educational establishment situated in the coastal town of Rathgama. It is the first free Buddhist English school in the South. It was founded in 1920 by Philanthropist Sir Ernest de Silva....
, Rathgama and then at Vidyaloka College
Vidyaloka College
Vidyaloka College is a boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on January 14, 1941 by philanthropist Henry Woodward Amarasuriya under the patronage of Venerable Weliwitiye Punyasara Thera. Presently, the school accommodates over 2500 students and provides primary and secondary...
, Galle. Later he moved to Mahinda College
Mahinda College
Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. It is a national school, which provides primary and secondary education. The school was established on March 1, 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott...
, Galle. Here he was discovered by former Sri Lankan paceman
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
Champaka Ramanayake
Champaka Ramanayake
Champaka Priyadarshana Hewage Ramanayake is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 62 ODIs from 1986 to 1995....
,who was so impressed by Malinga's raw ability that he invited him to join the Cricket Foundation of Sri Lanka. A short-lived attempt to make Malinga's action more upright led to much reduced pace and failing accuracy. Malinga promptly returned to his natural action with success, and with great encouragement from Champaka Ramanayake.
Style
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
has noted that Malinga's delivery action is similar to "slinging". Malinga has said that his unique action was a result of learning to play cricket exclusively with a tennis ball
Tennis ball
A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
.
Typically, younger bowlers are encouraged to deliver the ball with their arm near vertical to remove or reduce direction variables.
Malinga's action has attracted great comment, but has never been formally questioned; he has not been reported or called for throwing.
Test Cricket
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
's Marrara Oval. He was immediately successful, taking 6 wickets in the match (Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
twice, Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
, Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
, Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
and Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
) He was impressed by the friendliness of the Australian team in general, and in particular Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
who sought him out after the game to present him with one of the match stumps in the Sri Lankan dressing room.
He has developed into Sri Lanka's fastest Test bowler and a regular member of both their Test and One Day International sides. He has earned a reputation for troubling batsmen with his lively pace and well-directed bouncer
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
. He regularly bowls at speeds between 140 and 150 km/h (87 to 93 mph) and sometimes slightly faster. As time went by he started to lose pace clocking around 130 to 140 km/h. His slower off cutter was also menacing. He burst onto the test scene after ripping through the New Zealand top order, helping Sri Lanka draw the test series on their 2006/07 tour of New Zealand. He announced his retirement from Test cricket on 22 April 2011 in order to prolong his career in One-Day and T20 cricket.
One Day Internationals (ODI)
Malinga debuted on July 17, 2004 when Sri Lanka played the United Arab Emirates at DambullaDambulla
The city of Dambulla is situated in the Matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, situated 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy....
. Since then he has become a regular member on the ODI squad.
During the Sri Lankan team's tour of New Zealand in 2004–2005, the New Zealand team found his action hard to play and the NZ captain, Stephen Fleming
Stephen Fleming
Stephen Paul Fleming ONZM is a New Zealand cricketer, and the former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, in Test and one-day cricket...
asked the umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
to change his belt and tie to a lighter colour so that they would be better able to see the ball being released from Malinga's hand. The umpire did not do so.
Malinga became a highlight during the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, when on March 28, 2007, against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
he became the first ever player to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket. This was also only the fifth hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in World Cup history, the third ODI hat-trick for Sri Lanka and the 24th in all ODI history. Malinga's victims were Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
(bowled at 13), Andrew Hall
Andrew Hall
Andrew James Hall is a South African cricketer and a former member of the South African cricket team . He is an all-rounder who bowls fast-medium pace, and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. Prior to making it on the South African first class cricket scene he played...
(caught by Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
at 0), Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
(caught by Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
at 86), and Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
(bowled at 0). Despite Malinga's lethal spell, however, South Africa proceeded to win the match by 1 wicket with 10 balls still left.
During the 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
, Malinga took his second career hat-trick in Sri Lanka's group stage match against Kenya. This made him the first bowler to take two World Cup hat-tricks, and the fourth to take two hat-tricks in all One Day International cricket (alongside Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
, Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest off spin bowlers of all time.He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", which he employed to great effect during his career...
and Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
). In August 2011, he managed yet an other hat-trick against Australia.
T20 International (T20)
Malinga plays for Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians. He is their strike bowler in this format and is leading bowler. World record holder Sachin Tendulkar the Mumbai Indian's captain described Malinga as an important cog in Mumbai Indians game plan after the retirement of strike bowler in former South African Captain Shaun Pollock who represented the team in the first season. In the first match for the Mumbai IndiansMumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians , is a franchise cricket team representing Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team is one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. Mumbai Indians are currently led by Sachin Tendulkar, who is the Icon Player for the team and is coached by Robin Singh...
in the fourth season, he got 5 wickets against Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils is the Delhi franchise for the Indian Premier League in cricket. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.-Franchise history:...
restricting them to a mere 95. He had his best score of 5/13 in the game.
He won the Purple Cap award (most wickets) in the fourth season of Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
with 28 scalps in 16 matches. Throughout the tournament, he led the Mumbai Indians attack from the front and was instrumental in many victories.
In the 2011 Champions League Twenty20
2011 Champions League Twenty20
The Nokia Champions League Twenty20 2011 was the third edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament. It was held in India from 23 September to 9 October 2011. It was the first season after Nokia replaced Bharti Airtel as the tournament's title sponsor...
, he was the highest wicket taker in the tournament and won the golden wicket for this performance and won the award for the player of the tournament. Malinga also hit a lot of runs.
Records
- Only bowler in cricketing history to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket (vs. South Africa March 2007)
- Only bowler in cricketing history to take three hat-tricks in international cricket.
- Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews hold the highest run partnership for the 9th wicket in an ODI: 132 runs, against Australia in Melbourne in 2010. Malinga scored 56 Runs from 48 balls including six fours and two sixes; Mathews scored 77 runs off 84 deliveries including eight fours and one six.
- He is the only bowler with two World Cup hat trickHat TrickHat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
s, against South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World CupThe 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
and the other against KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in the 2011 Cricket World Cup2011 Cricket World CupThe 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
. - Malinga also holds the record for most wickets taken in a single IPLIndian Premier LeagueThe Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
season, 28 in the 2011 Indian Premier League2011 Indian Premier LeagueThe 2011 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 4 or the IPL 2011, was the fourth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition conceived by Lalit Modi in 2007. The tournament was hosted in India and the opening and closing ceremonies were...
4 - Malinga became the first player to take 3 ODI hat-tricks in August 2011.