Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews received a guard of honor as he stepped onto the field for his last Test against Bangladesh on Day 1 of the series opener in Galle on Tuesday, June 17. His teammates lifted their bats in two separate queues from both sides as Mathews entered the ground from the boundary ropes.
Sharing the emotional clip on X, FanCode wrote:
“A guard of honour at Galle for Angelo Mathews, who bids adieu to the longest format with his 119th and final Test.”
Watch the video below:
Angelo Mathews will end his career as the third-highest run-getter for Sri Lanka in Tests, only behind legends Kumar Sangakkara (12,400) and Mahela Jayawardena (11,814). Barring the ongoing fixture, the right-handed batter has amassed 8,167 runs in 118 Tests at an average of 44.62 with the help of 16 tons and 45 half-centuries.
Like home matches, the 38-year-old was equally brilliant in away games, scoring 3,844 runs in 52 matches since making his debut against Pakistan in 2009.
In his illustrious career, Mathews also represented the Islanders in the fourth-highest number of Tests, behind Jayawardena (149), Sangakkara (134) and Muttiah Muralitharan (132). As a skipper, he led Sri Lanka in 34 Tests from 2013 to 2017, guiding his team to 13 wins and six draws, but lost 15 matches.
Speaking about his retirement, Angelo Mathews told ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the first Test against Bangladesh:
“I played my 100th Test in Galle, so I thought I’d say goodbye in Galle. But the main reason was because we don’t have any games coming up, at least for now. After this, we’ll be having our next assignment in Test cricket after a year’s time, that is a very long wait.”
“I thought it’s good to give an opportunity to whoever is going to replace me in the second Test because he’s not going to get an opportunity till the next year (laughs). And in that year, you don’t know what’s going to happen. So I thought I’d just play one game and then try and give an opportunity to the other guy who’s replacing me in the second Test,” he added.
“It’s quite sad” – Angelo Mathews expresses disappointment over fewer Tests for Sri Lanka
Angelo Mathews feels there should be a minimum of 10 Tests for a country like Sri Lanka while pointing out that the big three teams play 15 or more games per year. The veteran batter said in the same conversation (via ESPNcricinfo):
“I think it’s quite sad to be honest. I mean, the younger generation are urging for more Test cricket. Test cricket is obviously the pinnacle of cricket. We all should push for more Tests. These guys are so enthusiastic about Test cricket.”
“I feel there has to be a minimum of 10 matches at least [in a year]. Teams like England, India or Australia are playing 15-plus games a year. Why can’t we play? We can. If we keep pushing, I mean, we have to. We have won World Cups. We have done so much for cricket as a nation, and we deserve to play Test cricket, just like Australia, India, and England,” he added.
Sri Lanka will play 12 Tests in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle. On the other hand, Australia, England and India will play 22, 21, and 18 Tests, respectively.
Follow the SL vs BAN 1st Test live score and updates here.
alt=”James Kuanal” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by James Kuanal
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