Suresh Perera

Anhettige Suresh Asanka Perera (born 16 February 1978), known as Suresh Perera, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer. A right-handed all-rounder, he played three Test and 20 One Day International (ODI) matches for the Sri Lankan national team, with his international career spanning from June 1998 to December 2001.

For the Old Cambrians cricketer, see Suresh Perera (Old Cambrians cricketer).

Suresh Perera
සුරේශ් පෙරේරා
Personal information
Full nameAnhettige Suresh Asanka Perera
Born (1978-02-16) 16 February 1978
Colombo, Sri Lanka
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 73)27 August 1998 v England
Last Test22 August 2001 v India
ODI debut (cap 95)19 June 1998 v India
Last ODI11 December 2001 v West Indies
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1995–2003Sinhalese Sports Club
2003–2004Colombo Cricket Club
2005–2006Badureliya Sports Club
2006–2009Moors Sports Club
2008Wayamba
2009Kandurata
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 3 20 88 105
Runs scored 77 195 2,431 1,622
Batting average 25.66 17.72 24.06 23.85
100s/50s 0/0 0/1 0/7 0/7
Top score 43* 56* 78 90
Balls bowled 408 579 6,914 1,805
Wickets 1 13 147 60
Bowling average 180.00 40.15 24.90 28.56
5 wickets in innings 0 0 2 0
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling 1/104 2/25 7/73 4/20
Catches/stumpings 1/– 4/– 44/– 26/-
Source: Cricinfo, 13 May 2014

School times

From Colombo, and educated at Isipathana College.

Domestic career

At domestic level, he played for seven different teams in a career spanning from December 1995 to October 2009, though most of his matches came for the Colombo-based Sinhalese Sports Club. After retiring, he emigrated to Australia.

Perera made his first-class debut in December 1995, aged 17, playing two matches for the Sinhalese Sports Club in the Saravanamuttu Trophy.[1] During the 1997–98 season, he played nine first-class matches,[2] taking 29 wickets at an average of 19.03,[3] and also debuted for Sri Lanka A.[1]

At domestic level, Perera recorded his highest first-class score, 78 runs, against the Moors Sports Club during the 2000–01 season.[2][4] His best bowling figures, 7/73, had come against Northamptonshire, when Sri Lanka A toured during the 1999 English season.[3][5] Perera left Sinhalese at the end of the 2002–03 season, and subsequently played for Colombo CC during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, Badureliya SC during the 2005–06 season, and Moors during the 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2009–10 seasons, as well as for two Twenty20 teams, Wayamba and Kandurata, in 2008 and 2009, respectively.[6] His last match at a major level came in October 2009, for Moors against Ragama CC in the Premier Limited Overs Tournament.[7]

International career

Perera made his ODI debut in the 1998 Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy, and played two matches against India and one against New Zealand.[8] He made his Test debut on Sri Lanka's 1998 tour of England, scoring 43 not out batting ninth in Sri Lanka's first innings and taking the wicket of Alec Stewart.[9] In his innings, he recorded six boundaries (including one six) as he "eviscerated an England attack containing Darren Gough, Angus Fraser, and Dominic Cork".[10] Later in the year, Perera represented Sri Lanka in the cricket competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, with the team losing the play-off for the bronze medal to New Zealand.[7]

Perera was restricted by stress fractures in his back for several seasons, but returned to international level in the 2001 Coca-Cola Cup, a triangular tournament featuring India and New Zealand.[11] He played in all seven of Sri Lanka's matches at the tournament,[12] and was named man of the match in the second game. In this match, against India, he scored 28 runs in a 49-run eighth-wicket partnership with Kumar Dharmasena (26), and then took the first two wickets to fall in India's innings.[13] Perera played two further matches for Sri Lanka when India stayed on in the country to play a three-Test series.[9] Known for his "sideways-on whippy action",[14] after the first Test, he was reported for a suspect action by umpire Steve Bucknor.[15] Perera had also been reported during a previous domestic season, by Asoka de Silva.[16] He resumed playing in December 2001 after remodelling his action and having it cleared by Sri Lanka Cricket.[10][17]

The second game against India was Perera's last Test match,[9] with two ODIs during the 2001 LG Abans Triangular Series his last matches at international level.[8]

After retirement

Perera moved to Perth, Western Australia, in the late 2000s, with his wife, who had been raised in the city. When not playing cricket, he had worked as a bank teller in Sri Lanka, and he worked as a waiter and forklift driver in Australia before starting his own sporting goods business.[10] As of the 2013–14 season, he was the captain of the Bassendean Cricket Club, playing in a local Perth competition.[18]

International awards

Man of the Match awards
No Opponent Venue Date Match Performance Result
1 India R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 22 July 2001 28 (31 balls: 1x4, 1x6); 6-0-26-2, 1 Ct.  Sri Lanka won by 6 runs.[19]

References
  1. First-class matches played by Suresh Perera (88) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. First-class batting and fielding in each season by Suresh Perera – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. First-class bowling in each season by Suresh Perera – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. Moors Sports Club v Sinhalese Sports Club, Premier Championship 2000/01 (Group B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. Northamptonshire v Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka A in England 1999 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. Teams Suresh Perera played for – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  7. List A matches played by Suresh Perera (105) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  8. ODI matches played by Suresh Perera (20) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  9. Test matches played by Suresh Perera (3) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  10. Tristan Lavalette (12 May 2014). "Bassendean's Sri Lankan star who wasn't" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  11. S. Dinakar (24 July 2001). "Can New Zealand solve the Muralitharan puzzle?" – The Hindu. Retrieved 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  12. Batting and fielding for Sri Lanka in Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka) 2001 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  13. Sri Lanka v India, Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka) 2001 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  14. Suresh Perera playing profile and statistics – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  15. BCCSL (18 August 2001). "Suresh Perera reported for suspect action" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  16. Charlie Austin (21 August 2001). "Sri Lanka coach throws support behind reported bowler" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  17. (6 December 2001). "Perera back for Sri Lanka" – BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  18. Tristin Lavalette (6 March 2014). "What happened to Sri Lanka’s Suresh Perera?" – The Roar. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  19. "2001-2002 Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka) - 3rd Match - Sri Lanka v India - Colombo".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.