Chaminda Vaas

Chaminda Vaas

Personal information
Full name	Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas
Born	27 January 1974 (1974-01-27) (age 37) Mattumagala, Sri Lanka
Nickname	Vasy
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Left arm fast medium
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Sri Lanka
Test debut (cap 63)	26 August 1994 v Pakistan
Last Test	20 July 2009 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 75)	15 February 1994 v India
Last ODI	27 August 2008 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1990/91–present	Colts Cricket Club
2003	Hampshire
2005	Worcestershire
2007	Middlesex
2010	Northamptonshire (squad no. 6)
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODIs	FC	LA
Matches	111	322	212	407
Runs scored	3,089	2,025	5,967	3,212
Batting average	24.32	13.68	26.40	16.64
100s/50s	1/13	0/1	4/28	0/8
Top score	100*	50*	134	76*
Balls bowled	23,438	15,775	38,887	19,297
Wickets	355	400	724	504
Bowling average	29.58	27.53	24.63	26.52
5 wickets in innings	12	4	31	4
10 wickets in match	2	n/a	4	n/a
Best bowling	7/71	8/19	7/28	8/19
Catches/stumpings	31/–	60/–	57/–	83/–
Source: CricketArchive, 25 June 2011

Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas (Sinhala: වර්නකුලසුරිය පටබැන්දිගේ උශාන්ත ජොසප් චමින්ද වාස්) (born 27 January 1974 in Mattumagala), 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'.^[1] In 2004 he gained recognition for his talent when he was selected for the World Test and one-day XI at the inaugural ICC Awards. He was once again selected for the World Test XI at the 2005 awards.

Playing style

He is a left arm swing bowler. Vaas used to open the bowling for Sri Lanka and is noted for his in-dipper. Also among his arsenal is an off cutter which is well disguised. He has added reverse-swing to his armoury, a skill that has made him a consistent wicket-taker even on bland subcontinental pitches. Although his pace has dropped over the years, he has masterful control of line and length. Vaas is also a useful batsman down the order, and has reached 3,000 Test runs, including 13 Test half-centuries and a century. Only 11 bowlers in Test history to have taken 200 wickets have scored more runs than Vaas [1]. As a fielder, he is noted for his strong arm.

Career highlights

A past student of prestigious St. Anthony's college wattala, he made his debut for the Sri Lankan cricket team in 1994. Within his first year in the team, he made a great impact guiding Sri Lanka to their maiden Test Match victory away from home, against New Zealand at Napier by taking 5-47 in the first innings and 5-43 in the second.

In 2001-02, he took 26 wickets in a series win against the West Indies. This included one match-haul of 14 wickets, a feat only achieved by two fast bowlers in the subcontinent, the other being Imran Khan. He was recently selected for the Afro Asia cup but dropped out due to county commitments.

At the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, held in South Africa, Vaas picked up 23 wickets, becoming the leading wicket taker in the tournament. This included a best of 6-25 against Bangladesh, in which game Vaas also took a hat-trick with the first three deliveries of the Bangladesh innings.

In 2004, Vaas was also selected for the ICC World XI at the inaugural ICC awards.

On 26 June 2007 he made his maiden test century, playing against Bangladesh he hit 100 not out in a total of 577-6 declared in Colombo. This came in his 97th Test Match, which at the time was a record for the most number of Tests before scoring a maiden century (since overtaken by Anil Kumble). Soon after in November 2007, Vaas played his 100th Test match against England, in what was also Sanath Jayasuriya's final Test match for Sri Lanka.

In August 2008, Vaas crossed yet another landmark, when he had Yuvraj Singh caught off his bowling in the fourth One Day match. Yuvraj Singh became Vaas' 400th ODI victim, by doing this Vaas joined the illustrious company of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and his team mate Muttiah Muralitharan as being the only bowlers in international cricket to have taken 400 ODI wickets.

He is now retired from Test Cricket, with the 3rd Test against Pakistan as his last Test Match.^[2]

Records

Chaminda Vaas is Sri Lanka's most successful fast bowler ever, having taken over 300 Test wickets. He has been the head of the Sri Lankan bowling attack for many years. He achieved his 300th wicket on 12 December 2005 against India, becoming just the second Sri Lankan bowler to do so, after Muttiah Muralitharan. He has also taken 400 One Day International wickets, again only one of two Sri Lankans to do so. As of the 24th of September 2011 only 3 bowlers have taken more ODI wickets.

Most notably, Vaas holds the record for the best bowling figures in one-day international cricket, 8 for 19 off eight overs against Zimbabwe at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in 2001. Vaas took the first eight wickets of Zimbabwe's then record-lowest ODI innings of 38, with Muralitharan taking the final two wickets in his first over. It remains the only eight-wicket haul in ODI history.

Vaas has taken two ODI hat tricks in his career, the third of only four players to have achieved the feat. The first was taken as part of his 8/19 spell against Zimbabwe in 2001; the second came during the 2003 World Cup against Bangladesh, and was achieved with the first three balls of the game. This had never before been seen in One Day International cricket.

Club Cricket

He had joined Middlesex County Cricket Club for the 2007 cricket season as an Overseas registration. In 2009 he played some matches in P.Sen trophy for Mohun Bagan. He also joined Northamptonshire County Cricket Club for the 2010 T20 competition and found himself in the unusual position of opening the batting although he did well recording three half centuries. He is set to join Northants for the entire 2011 season.

Personal life

Vaas is Roman Catholic and is known to pray before every game.^[3][4] He intended to become a priest at a young age but believed that God wanted him to play cricket instead: "I seriously considered going into the priesthood, which would have meant 12 to 14 years of study. But then cricket began to take over. I think that God created me as a cricketer, so I am happy that that's my calling."^[5]

According to Bill Frindall, scorer and statistician for BBC Radio's Test Match Special, Chaminda is actually his penultimate given name, therefore his initials should read WPUJC.

Test Centuries

The following table illustrates a summary of Test centuries scored by Chaminda Vaas

• In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
• The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test Centuries of Chaminda Vaas
	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
[1]	100*	97	Bangladesh	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground	2007

Half Centuries

Test Half Centuries

• In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
• The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test Half Centuries of Chaminda Vaas
	Runs	Match	Against	Venue	Year
[1]	51	6	New Zealand	Dunedin, New Zealand	1995
[2]	57	15	New Zealand	Dunedin, New Zealand	1997
[3]	53*	35	Pakistan	Rawalpindi, Pakistan	2000
[4]	54	41	South Africa	Galle, Sri Lanka	2000
[5]	74*	56	Zimbabwe	Colombo, Sri Lanka	2001
[6]	72*	57	Zimbabwe	Kandy, Sri Lanka	2002
[7]	68*	73	Australia	Kandy, Sri Lanka	2004
[8]	69	79	South Africa	Galle, Sri Lanka	2004
[9]	65	88	Bangladesh	Colombo, Sri Lanka	2005
[10]	50*	91	England	Lord's, England	2006
[11]	64	94	South Africa	Colombo, Sri Lanka	2006
[12]	90	102	England	Galle, Sri Lanka	2007
[13]	54*	103	West Indies	Providence, West Indies	2008

ODI Half Centuries

• In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
• The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

ODI Half Centuries of Chaminda Vaas
	Runs	Match	Against	Venue	Year
[1]	50*	157	Pakistan	Sharjah, UAE	2001

Career Best Performances

as of 27 July 2010

	Batting				Bowling
	Score	Fixture	Venue	Season	Score	Fixture	Venue	Season
Tests	100*	Sri Lanka v Bangladesh	Colombo (SSC)	2007	7-71	Sri Lanka v West Indies	Colombo (SSC)	2001
ODI	50*	Sri Lanka v Pakistan	Sharjah	2001	8-19	Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe	Colombo (SSC)	2001
T20I	21	Sri Lanka v Australia	Cape Town	2007	2-14	Sri Lanka v Bangladesh	Johannesburg	2007
FC	134	Colts v Burgher	Colombo (SSC)	2004	7-54	Western Province v Southern Province	Colombo (RPS)	1999
LA	76*	Colts v Nondescripts	Colombo (SSC)	2009	8-19	Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe	Colombo (SSC)	2001
T20	73	Northamptonshire v Durham	Northampton	2010	3-16	Northamptonshire v Nottinghamshire	Trent Bridge	2010

See also

• 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team

References

1. ^ http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/50804.html
2. ^ "Chaminda Vaas to retire from Tests". Cricinfo. 2009-07-19. http://www.cricinfo.com/slvpak2009/content/current/story/415116.html. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
3. ^ "Catholics pray for Sri Lankan cricketers following attack". Union of Catholic Asian News. 2009-03-04. http://www.ucanews.com/2009/03/04/catholics-pray-for-sri-lankan-cricketers/. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
4. ^ "Leader of the lefties". BBC Sport. 2001-12-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/1698881.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
5. ^ Thomas Josey (2009-07-07). "600 reasons why batsmen hadn't a prayer against cricket's high priest Chaminda". Sportingo. http://www.sportingo.com/cricket/a11823_reasons-why-batsmen-hadnt-prayer-against-crickets-high-priest-chaminda. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 

External links

• Player profile: Chaminda Vaas from ESPNcricinfo
• Player Profile: Chaminda Vaas from CricketArchive

Chaminda Vaas's achievements

Persondata
Name	Vaas, Chaminda
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 January 1974
Place of birth	Mattumagala
Date of death
Place of death