Who is the executioner in cricket

The crowd sighed, because the remarkable thing was that he actually missed the ball and it dribbled away to Alec Stewart. As if to redeem himself, he hit the next nine balls he received for 26 runs. De Silva, who knows about playing in his pomp, had decided it was Jayasuriya's day. He was a good partner, said Jayasuriya at the close of play. His came in balls.

To get there he hit a six, which was also notable because it was the first of the innings. These Sri Lankans may be the world's one-day champions, but they play Test cricket according to classical norms. The ball stays mostly on the turf. Jarasuriya, who had been mainly concerned with saving the follow-on the night before, had started the day on 59, yet his came up four overs before tea 31 fours and that six. By then his mannerisms had become familiar.

Waiting for the delivery, he taps the ground rapidly either side of the crease before placing his left foot in position. He is a left- hander, and he keeps his hands low on the handle which exaggerates his crouch, making him look even smaller than 5ft 5in. The single one-day shot remaining in his Test repertory is a slash, hit hard over gully's head.

For the rest, the stroke play is an impeccable mix of power and timing. When he drives through the covers he leans into the ball heavily with his bottom hand, and it doesn't matter what size the boundaries are.

He glances fine and pulls square. Although he is only 29, when he takes off his helmet he reveals a bald patch. Jayasuriya is a country boy with bright eyes and a toothy smile, and a gold chain roun his neck.

He was born in Matara on the south coast of Sri Lanka, where his father works for the council as a sanitary supervisor. He went to an unfashionable school, but benefited from the determination of Arjuna Ranatanga, his skipper, to spread Sri Lankan cricket outside Colombo.

One remarkable achievement at The Oval was to turn de Silva into his junior partner, outscoring him 89 to 26 in the 29 overs between lunch and tea. Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer on Friday reckoned that his country cannot just be happy by merely competing in a few Super 12 games of an ICC event as the establishment needs to be brave and push themselves a bit further.

What Coetzer meant was proper financial stability for the players which would give them an opportunity to pursue their passion with freedom unlike now when they all are dabbling in some other profession to earn money. We need to be brave and push that a little-bit further, and we need support there," he elaborated.

Scotland, who are already out of the tournament, will be facing table-toppers Pakistan in their last Super 12 game at Sharjah on Sunday. I am so extremely proud of the guys but we have got a lot of learning to do and we have to go through days like this," he said.