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Full name Warushavithana Saman Jayantha
Born January 26, 1974, Ambalangoda
Current age 34 years 260 days
Major teams Sri Lanka,Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club,Mumbai Champs,Ruhuna,Singha Sports Club,Southern Province
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
4s
6s
Ct
St
ODIs
17
17
2
400
74*
26.66
530
75.47
0
2
54
4
5
0
First-class
138
235
13
7750
212*
34.90
14
38
101
0
List A
111
109
10
2842
147*
28.70
3
15
35
2
Twenty20
6
6
2
203
84*
50.75
131
154.96
0
2
21
11
3
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
ODIs
17
6
55
46
0
-
-
-
5.01
-
0
0
0
First-class
138
7745
3238
118
5/54
27.44
2.50
65.6
2
0
List A
111
1363
960
34
3/5
3/5
28.23
4.22
40.0
0
0
0
Twenty20
6
2
18
25
0
-
-
-
8.33
-
0
0
0
Career statistics
ODI debut
Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), Feb 27, 2004 scorecard
Last ODI
New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Auckland, Dec 26, 2004 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut
1992/93
Last First-class
Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club v Badureliya Sports Club at Colombo (Bloomfield), Feb 21-24, 2008 scorecard
List A debut
1994/95
Last List A
Ruhuna v Wayamba at Kurunegala, Jan 5, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut
Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club v Police Sports Club at Colombo (Colts), Aug 17, 2004 scorecard
Last Twenty20
Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club v Chilaw Marians Cricket Club at Moratuwa, Nov 5, 2005 scorecard
Profile
Saman Jayantha is a late developer, an aggressive opening batsman who came close to missing out on an opportunity to play for his country. He first rose to prominence in 1996 when he captained a Sri Lanka Colts XI against the touring West Indians, and played for Sri Lanka A. He drifted out of the reckoning, though, seemingly for good, until he caught the eye of the selectors with some superb performances for his club, Bloomfield. A prolific year in 2003-03 (731 runs at 43) elevated his first-class average to a healthy 36.31 on Sri Lanka's tricky domestic pitches. Jayantha, who also bowls offspin, was rewarded with a berth in Sri Lanka's squad for the Hong Kong Sixes in November 2003. He produced a superb display over the two-day tournament, winning the Man-of-the-Tournament award for his blazing batting and useful spin. During England's tour to Sri Lanka later in the month he was called up briefly as cover before winning his first cap against Australia in February 2004. The fifth child in a family that hails from Ambalangoda, a small fishing town on the southwest coast, he was a keen student and secured a place in Colombo University. But after just one week he packed his bags to concentrate on cricket. That gamble finally paid off when he scored an unbeaten 74 in only his third ODI, against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo. Since then he has been essentially a back-up batsman, playing the last of his 17 ODIs against Australia in early 2004. The closest he came to selection again was when he was named in the probables for Sri Lanka's ICC Champions Trophy campaign in 2006. At age 34, with his international career behind him, Jayantha signed on with the unofficial Indian Cricket League. A ban on he and four other Sri Lankans was lifted in September 2008, meaning Jayantha was free to play domestic cricket back home.
