The allrounder looks back at Sri Lanka’s memorable Test series win in England ten years ago

To start, what are your memories of that 2014 series?

It was one of my best years as player and captain. It will go into the record books and history books. We can cherish those moments for the rest of our lives, because it was such competitive cricket.

Let’s talk about that Lord’s Test first. You scored a hundred and Kumar Sangakkara hit the Lord’s century he’d been dreaming of…

In my first Test at Lord’s, being able to get on the honours board was such a delight for me. I was happy for Sanga as well because that was his last innings at Lord’s and he desperately wanted that hundred. Good things happen to good people.

The batters had a good game but it came down to Nuwan Pradeep, the No. 11, having to bat out five balls to save that Test. What were you feeling in the dressing room watching that?

The most important job was done by Nuwan Pradeep and the lower order, because if we had lost that game, we wouldn’t have won the series. I’m very grateful for the grit the bowlers showed with the bat in that game. In the dressing room we were counting down the overs. We were probably putting a lot of pressure on the batters who ended up having to go out there.

Bowlers do a lot of hard work just bowling, but sometimes end up having to do the team’s dirty laundry as well. I sometimes feel it’s pretty unfair. But they showed a lot of grit and a lot of courage against Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who were running in hard.

Nuwan Pradeep was not only courageous, he also remembered we had a review up our sleeves as well [he was given out lbw off the second-to-last delivery, but reviewed straight away and was shown to have got an inside edge to the ball]. Even though he’s not the best the best in facing the ball, he was so gritty in not letting the team down. In the dressing room we absolutely didn’t want to lose that game. We were hoping, praying, keeping our fingers crossed – all those things.

In the second Test. you got a few wickets in the first innings to keep Sri Lanka hanging in the match. What do you remember of that?

It was a pretty hostile series for both teams. There was a lot of talking and going at each other. It was quite fun on the field. I took the ball and tried to bowl on a good length. In England, if you land the ball on the spot and get it to move, it gives you a chance to take wickets. I just did that and got four wickets.

In that second innings, you had had a pretty good partnership with Mahela Jayawardene, but then he got out and a couple of wickets fell. When the No. 8 batter, Dhammika Prasad, got out first ball, you threw your bat in anger. Do you remember that moment?

Yes, I do. I had a go at Dhammika in the dressing room as well. Any batsman can get out. In the heat of the moment, I must have thrown my bat as well. It was all part of the game, because it was a very hostile series and we badly wanted to beat England.

We managed to claw our way back after that. Rangana Herath played a massive part by batting so well at the other end [Mathews and Herath put on 149 for the eighth wicket, of which Herath scored 48]. He managed to hold on at one end. I was able to play my natural game. We got a fairly decent lead.

When I got out, I was thinking, “Oh no, we should have got more runs.” But it worked out pretty well, because we only won that match off the penultimate ball, so looking back, the timing worked.

What I remember of that innings was you clobbering boundaries even when they had the field back to defend against that. You’ve now played over 100 Tests. Where does that 160 rate for you?

Right at the very top. It was foreign conditions, and playing that English team was a massive challenge. It was a 160 in a winning effort, which was the important thing. It wasn’t just the match, winning the series and creating history was special.

You said you had a go at Dhammika Prasad, but then later that day he took four wickets and set Sri Lanka up for the win. Have you ever spoken to him about what happened for him that evening?

Mathews rates his 160 at Headingley: “Right at the very top. It was foreign conditions, and playing that English team was a massive challenge”

We’ve had that conversation quite a bit since then. Yes, it stirred him up a bit. We know that Dhammika can also bat and score some runs, so that’s what we were expecting. Anyone can get out, it’s just the way he got out at the time [ramping a short ball and holing out to deep third]…

But he got very fired up coming out to bowl, and I personally say that’s the best spell I’ve seen him bowl. It was quite a flat wicket at the time. We were into the last session of the fourth day. The balls that he bowled to that top order were unplayable. We both agree that it’s one of the best spells that cricket has seen.

Late in that Test, Moeen Ali was batting very well, and James Anderson seemed to have his defence in order at No. 11, when you were one wicket away. You’d toiled for wickets all day. Were you preparing yourself emotionally for a draw at any point?

It was a rollercoaster of emotions. At one point, in my mind I kind of gave up [when] Anderson and Moeen Ali batted for quite a while. But then another part of me kept telling me we were going to win. We threw all our options out. I was going to bowl someone else for that last over, but in the last moment I gave it to Shamindra Eranga. Looking back, everything worked perfectly. But at some moments I did think I’d tried everything I can… but we kept trying every single trick.

Anderson and Moeen batted for more than an hour before that final over. You crammed the infield with fielders because Anderson was on strike. Do you remember where you were standing for that?

Yes, I was at leg slip and Rangana was next to me at leg gully. And it popped out to Rangana. Anderson was playing really well and he never gave up. They showed a lot of grit as well. That last-wicket pair batted for a lot of overs.

When that ball popped up, did you have any doubts about what was going to happen next?

No doubt at all, because all 11 of us were expecting that to come to us. I’m sure any of us would have taken that with our whole body – it was that important. We were waiting for even a quarter of a chance – not even half. I’m a 1000% sure Rangana was never going to drop that.

Shaminda had bowled extremely well to get that wicket. All the bowlers had bowled so well. They bowled their hearts out.

At that stage, you had won the Asia Cup, the T20 World Cup and then this Test series in England, all in the space of a few months. What do you remember about the celebrations?

Dhammika Prasad reduced England to 52 for 4 as they looked to chase 350 at Headingley

I keep saying 2014 was the best year of my career so far. The England series was the icing on the cake. The team was very confident. The way we’d played leading up gave us a huge boost coming into that series. When you keep winning, you tend to think you can beat any team in any conditions. That was our mindset. We lived up to those expectations.

From the current squad touring England for three Tests, you, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne played in that series. Have you been speaking to others about 2014 ahead of the series?

Yes, absolutely. We’ve been sharing about 2014, because it gives us hopes. We can say, “Yes, we’ve done it before, and we can do it again.” Now the team is different and the team we’re playing is different, but it’s been done before. If we play to our potential in this series, we can beat them again.

In 2014, you had a very heavy year in terms of your workload – playing all formats and bowling as well. And then you had an extended period of injury. Do you have any regrets about that period?

I’m extremely honoured to play any game for Sri Lanka. Ten years ago I was 27 and I wanted to play every single game – not that that’s not the case now. But the amount of cricket we play now is a lot. When you age you have to manage your workload. Back then I didn’t even think of workloads. I just wanted to play for my country in any format, and try to win every single game, with the bat or the ball. Maybe that led to injuries, but I have no regrets. I got injured while playing for my country.

Will we see you bowling in this series?

I’m pretty much undercooked with my bowling. Since the LPL, I haven’t been bowling that much. I have been preparing myself a bit to bowl. Even in these conditions it’s not easy to walk into the field and start bowling, and I haven’t had much bowling under my belt for a while. Let’s hope I will bowl.

Some of your most memorable spells have come in England, though. There must be some good vibes for you here?

I haven’t got a lot of pace, but I land it on the spot most of the time, so that gives me an opportunity to get wickets in a place like England. Looking back, even in the 2009 T20 World Cup semi-final, I got those three wickets in the first over and helped my team to victory. And then in the 2019 ODI World Cup against West Indies, I hadn’t bowled forabout eight months, but I used my experience to get the team over the line. I do have fond memories bowling in England.

[Cricinfo]